Furniture Tacks - DIY

In the last couple months I moved into a new apartment, which brought on a whole slew of fun new projects :) Including some furniture repurposing - my favorite!

I needed some kind of entertainment center and I'm a huge fan of turning regular, old, beat up dressers, stands or accent tables into such!

Besides the norm - Painting, I decided to try my nack at furniture tack designs. Super. Awesome. Fun.  I'm one of those people that rush through everything because I'm super excited for the outcome.. but then the outcome isn't perfect.. unless you look from a distance! :-X :-) Hah.

I put the tacks on the entertainment center first. I didn't exactly measure <-- wouldn't suggest that route.

This accent table I actually use for an end table. Its hard to find good end tables that fit (are high enough) for sectionals.. well the places I'm looking anyways. This project I did with a little more planning and I took my time. I used a pen to mark a dot every 3/4 of an inch. I know there are tools to do this way easier, but the one and only place I looked I couldn't find it, so I opted out :)

I used my fingers to tap the furniture tack in each time, ever so gently as not to beat up my fingers. Then I would obviously remove my fingers and bam, strike that tack in there.. I think I had a little too much fun with that part each time.

All in all in was a fun time and a super easy way to fancy up some thrift store furniture finds! I found the furniture tacks, with the help of an employee at Joann Fabric's. They were like $2 for a little box of 30 something. So I grabbed all that they had, which was maybe 6 or 7 boxes. I knew I would want to try and use the tacks whenever I had the chance and for so cheap, why not!?




BEFORE

AFTER

Fresh Mozzarella, Tomato & Basil Pesto Panini

Okay, so I'll start by saying that this picture so does not do this tasty sandwich justice! About a month ago I finally tried the Tomato & Mozzarella Panini at Panera Bread and I was immediately hooked - I'm not sure why I waited so long to try it! This week I decided to try and make it myself and I'm SO glad I did. I was incredibly happy with the outcome and might I say, extremely surprised :) I made this in my panini grill.


   Ingredients:

• Fresh Italian Bread - sliced a little thick
• Tomato - slice it to cover the bread
• Fresh Mozzarella - I slice it about 1/4 inch and cover the bread
• Butter - butter both slices of bread like a grilled cheese sandwich

My version of Basil Pesto Ingredients
*Truthfully I dont know how to make pesto, but what I did make was delicious, so I'll share it :)
If you've noticed in the past, my measurements are pretty much "a little of this and a little of that." So I apologize once again for the vagueness in my directions and ingredients. I hope it still helps!


   Ingredients for "Pesto" - mix together over low/med heat

• Tomato Paste
• Dried Fire Roasted Tomato flakes
• Basil
• Some Garlic Powder
• Some Italian Seasoning

   

   Directions:

• Butter the bread, throw the slices in your panini to warm both sides of each - for just a bit.
• Then lay a good amount of pesto on one of the slices of bread
• Slap some Fresh mozz on the pesto
• On the other slice throw on your tomatoes 
• Put the two halves together and continue cooking in the panini grill med-high setting until crispy, and you can see the fresh mozz all melty.
• Enjoy :)

It sure has been a while!

Hello, I'm back! I have been missing in action for a while because it took a little bit for me to get used to working full time, making a 2-hour round trip commute, with homework, dinner and some housework to come home to. Phew, there is just not enough hours in the day. Its still a long day but I am surely much more used to it than I was :) I honestly love my new job, the people are great and the company is wonderful!  I've added some pics to prove I was still alive and kickin' this whole time ;)

Brittany from Clever and Catchy did my fishtail braid :) I do not possess the skills!

Some shoes I got on clearance at various TJ Maxx stores.

Pink polka dot Sally Hansen nail strips were on sale for 4 something so I had to try them. I really like the product but I'm too cheap to pay full price! I did notice that Amazon.com has them for like $4 for a pack of 2!!

Purple Ombre Nails

Some Nail fun.

At my place of work they stock the freezer full of yummy ice cream for us. I've been pretty good about not dipping into every day - I'm not sure how :oP

Memorial Day weekend me and the boyfriend, Adam went to PA to visit his family. They are always so great to us and we always have so much fun with them!

Look at this cool ice ball in my wine. Adam's uncle Matt had these for drinks. 

They keep your drink ice cold but don't water it down and it looks so snazzy!!

Adam's cousin Ben had this neat laser and when he shined it into our drinks it made them look so neat!

Wine by the fire, still in PA with Adam's family.

Picture of the pool at night.

It was a beautiful Sunday a few weekends ago so me and my friend Katy enjoyed the sun with some DELISH "Whipped & OJs"

Whipped & OJS

Pinnacle Whipped Cream Vodka

& Orange Juice

When we relax for the evening, our little family - consisting of me, the boyfriend Adam, pup Spunky and cat Rambo, well we like horse around if you couldn't tell :oP

Me and Adam's mom's dog, Timber - he is a German Shepherd/Husky mix and he is the SWEETEST pup! He has one brown eye like a shepherd and one blue one like a husky. He is always so excited to see us and greets us sweetly when we walk in the door :). Him and Spunky man are best friends.

Spunk is addicted to playing with toys.. here he is in his natural position laying half down with his butt in the air waiting for you to throw his toy.. in which we have to repeat the process like 80 times.. 

Rambam sleeps in the curtains.. hmmm..

Both of my animals like to attack my sweatshirt strings, does anybody else ever have this problem? Haha

Hello :)

Hi there!!

I'm still alive, I swear! I have been so incredibly busy and worn out from my new job! Once I get used to the working day again (aka quit being a total wimp) then I will be back in action regularly! I hope good things are happening with you!!

Peace, health & happiness,
<3 Ashley

Life Stuff

I am so excited to say that I start my new job on Monday! These past four months have been pretty rough. Finding a job had been quite difficult. Around my area there really isn't much available. 

Throughout the process just about everyone, friends and family, said "don't worry, something better will come along." When you hear that, it makes you feel hopeful but you don't completely believe it. I always cherished their confidence in me though.

Well just when I thought I was doomed  I found a great job at an awesome Internet marketing firm! I'm so excited to start working for them. That slogan "something better will come along," in this case, couldn't have been more true, this is that "something better." :)

Although some people would love a few months off from work, it's not as great as it sounds. For one, it is pretty boring when the rest of the world is working. Not to mention the 'being broke' aspect of it. YIKES. You can't make money doing nothing! 

I must say that the one thing I enjoyed was the time I spent with my dog, aka my child :) It might sound funny if you don't have pets but if you do, you can understand. Pets are family too. This little guy just cuddles all day long and keeps me company when I'm cleaning, doing school work, etc. I'm totally going to miss him while I'm at work but mostly I feel bad leaving him alone all day. I think he needs a doggy companion aka, I think we need to adopt another dog ;) Operation Convince the Boyfriend starts now!

PS. I will totally miss my little kitty cat but he is very independent so I know he'll be fine :)

Spunky Monkey

Choco Whey Protein Smoothie.. Yum & Yum.

Recently Sarah, a reader, had asked what the chocolate whey protein powder would be good mixed with. At the time, I had no answer and actually wondered myself. I feel that I'm pretty dang good at making healthy, fresh, and delicious smoothies with the vanilla whey but hadn't tried out the chocolate and had mixed feelings about the outcome.

The other day my boyfriend brought me home 3 tubs of Chocolate Whey Protein Powder, so I got the push I needed to try it!

Today I made a DELISH smoothie that tasted more like a dessert, like a Peanut Butter Banana Sundae. It was the perfect boost I needed to finish my last project of the semester, it was also a nice change from my other berry induced fruity smoothies, though still delish ;).  To be honest, this morning I really just wanted to smother an onion bagel with loads of butter, but opted for the choco smoothie instead.. and I'm so glad I did. It was so yummy and SO filling. It was way more filling than others I have made. Cheers to that!

INGREDIENTS

1 Scoop Chocolate Whey Protein
1 Frozen Banana
4 Ice Cubes
1 Teaspoon Nutella..I just couldn't resist :)
1 Tablespoon of All Natural Peanut Butter
1/2 Cup 2% Reduced Fat Milk.. in the future I will use Skim or fat-free milk.

**If you're wondering why my banana looks so crazy - hah, well its because once they are ripe I throw them in the freezer as is. Their peel gets brown but they are perfect on the inside. Frozen bananas have a better consistency in smoothies, in my opinion.

I usually cut them into thirds and then peel off the peel. It's easy it just makes your fingers cold, burrrrr.

Do you have any delicious Chocolate Whey Protein Smoothie recipes you would like to share? I would love to try them!


Also, I'm so sorry I have been non-existent lately, this week is the last week of the semester and it has been c-c-crazy! The FUN. concert is tonight so I plan on sharing soon!! 
Have a lovely weekend!!

Its a Wonderful World

I'm just feeling really good again today, and as always, I hope you are too! My good vibrations have translated into a few items I purchased at TJ Maxx and I didn't even realize it. :) Like this mug, with its cheery positivity.

I got this huge coffee mug for 3 buckos. I love big coffee mugs. If you don't read backwards normally, it says: Total Happiness is a Good Book and a Large Hot Cup of Coffee. I would agree that those things make me very, very happy but they sure can't take all the credit!

Do you ever have those items that you always seem to grab when at certain stores?? I do, I think I kind of go through phases. For a few months, every time I went into TJ Maxx I bought a throw blanket. They usually have the cutest patterns and the most comfortable fabrics. Well lately.. and I say lately meaning like the last year apparently.. I always seem to nab some kind of cup. Whether it be a coffee cup, a travel mug, or a water bottle of some sort - I just can't help myself. Whats your item?

Cheers to that! $5 on clearance woohoo! 

And cheers to this Zen accent piece - $4.99, thank you TJ Maxx. ;)

Spunk with some blankeys.. his favorite things ever, besides his toys of course.

I was driving quite a bit today but it was enjoyable. I was just relaxing and listening to some good music, which was the Sublime with Rome Pandora station and it was awesome. Just fun and summery-feeling, real good feel good music with bands like Sublime, Sublime with Rome, The Dirty Heads, Pepper, Damian Marley, etc. Gosh I can't wait for summer. :)

Anywhoooo, I hope you're having a wonderful day!!