Mummy Wreath

My mom was one of those people who decorated for holidays. I often hated helping to decorate, but I loved once it was out. Living in an apartment, I never really decorated for any holiday. Maybe a small thing here or there, but I am getting better at it. Right now I have THREE pumpkins, and a few other Halloween items around the apartment to get us in the festive mood for the upcoming holiday.One of these things is my new wreath that Keith loves. It's a mummy wreath!

It was so easy to make and really fun! It's made out of a foam wreath base. I wrapped bandages around it, gluing in several pieces to hold tight. After I made it all the way around, then wrapped it across both sides to create the "face" space. I then attached big goggly eyes and let it dry.

It is a silly and adorable wreath that is bring some Halloween spirit (although goofy) into our living room. More fall (and Halloween!) items coming soon! I promise.

Recipe: Corn Chowder

The weather is changing here in Illinois and I am kinda diggin' the fall air. I love fall, the leaves changing, the chill in the air, wearing sweatshirts and its finally okay to drink the super hot tea I drink every morning, even during 100 degree days in the summer. So, along with the pumpkin white russian, I decided to indulge in another fall favorite. I used to make this recipe over a fire, in a cast iron pot because I am pretty awesome. It's one of my favorites, so I hope you enjoy it as much as I do. (be warned: I never said it was healthy, but man, it's tasty!)

What you need:

• 4 slices of bacon (chopped up) I think I added more like 5 or 6...we like bacon
• 1/2 medium onion, we don't like onion that much, so you can always add more
• 4 medium potatoes
• 4 cups of corn, we used frozen 
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1/4 cup of butter
• 2 and 1/2 salt
• 1/4 tsp of pepper
• 2 cups of milk 

 What to do:
Saute the bacon. Once cooked all the way through, cut up into bite sized pieces.Drain most of the fat. Add onions, potatoes and 1 cup water to pot (or a bit more to cover the potatoes). Bring to a boil, then simmer ten minutes. In a second pan, combine corn, cream, sugar and butter. Simmer for ten minutes. Combine the two pots and mix together with other ingredients. Keep coking until the potatoes are tender. I added more salt and pepper for taste on mine. It yields a lot, like 6-8 servings.

Stay warm out there kids.

Fall drink

Hello blogging world. I have disappeared for a bit but I am hoping to reappear now for awhile. I feel like my blog needed a break, I needed to step back and see what was working and what wasn't working. I noticed I wasn't writing for fun, but because I felt I needed to. So, I wanted to make sure this was for me- not just because. So, I am starting fresh- a clean slate- to try again. I am hoping this refresh will get my butt in gear and start creating again, which it already has. I have a recipe at the bottom of this post. However, I felt it was time to reintroduce myself.

I am Jenn. Sometimes it's Jenny. Othertimes it's Bean. Or even J. It depends on who asks. I live in Chicago, but am from Michigan. I miss Michigan and the woods, the prairie doesn't suit me. I like a cup of flavorful tea (Caprihana is my favorite right now), cute boys (mainly my dashing & adorable husband, Keith), puppies (my dog is a peach, her name is Loki), history (I am pretty much an amateur scholar of US presidents) and anything sparkly. I have three nieces, a sister, amazing parents,  a handful of in-laws, a loving husband and a bunch of friends (including MEG who co-owns this blog, but is a very busy lady!). I am often daydreaming of Scotland, Mackinac Island, what I am buying/making people for Christmas, new recipes and how I wish I lived in a cool Victorian house. I love music, laughing and reading. But most of all I love creating.

Okay, so that's me. Boring stuff done. NOW, let's get on to a fall drink that I stumbled on and decided to try out. A pumpkin white russian.

So, what I did was get a tumbler, place some ice in the tumbler. Pour in an ounce of pumpkin flavored vodka, followed by an ounce of Kahlua. I then finished it up with milk and gave it a stir. To really set off the pumpkin flavor I added some pumpkin pie spice on top. Deeelicous.  Of course, with any milk based drink, I can only really stomach one- however that one was really tasty. Remember: drink responsibly.

Weekend Outings: Pullman House Tour

Jenn's note: This post was originally scheduled to be posted Monday of last week. Let's pretend I posted it then. I have had a crazy busy week with work, and the week got on top of me. Anyway, enjoy.
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This past weekend I went on the Historic Pullman Walking Tour. It was amazing. This town, dating back to the 1800s, was developed by George Pullman of the Pullman Rail Car fame for his employees. The history is deep in this area of Chicago, I am not going to go into it, but serious look it up, super interesting! I have never been here before. Little did I know, I would leave this place in love and inspired.

Everyone we met, or the people who own the houses you toured were such cool people. They all seemed interested in history and most were artists. It was so neat to see this little 4 by 4 block neighborhood in Chicago, that seemed so passionate.

 I even found a house that is not too out of our price range, that has had me drooling. Keith and I keep looking at photos of it. It's so neat. Built in 1870s as a skilled workers home, it has such charm, I felt that click the instant I walked in the door. Who knows what will happen, but that house....man, I will be in my dreams for awhile.

Anyway, here are just a few photos of the adventure I had.

Fall Recipe: Apple Bread

Keith and I went out to the pumpkin patch/apple orchard/corn maze/family fun place on our day off together. The orchard was shut, but we did enjoy ourselves playing all day, and shopping in the store.

 I promise Keith is not as creepy as he looks in this photo.

 I cannot promise I am not this short.

 Keith enjoyed the slide.

Then we went to get the most perfect pumpkin. He is currently on our coffee table, and will be carved soon.

ANYWAY, it was fun. We got pumpkins, squash and a peck of apples. Keith and I have been devouring them because they are oh so tasty. Tonight I grabbed the second to last apple to set aside to make some apple bread. I am made this bread quite a few times and I found the recipe in my handwritten notebook, so I am not sure where it comes from. I believe it's a historic recipe for the 1800s. The breads comes out like a coffee cake, except with more liquid.

Ingridents:
Dough:

• 2 cups flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• 2 T butter
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 cup of milk

Topping:

• 1 cup brown sugar
• 4 T butter, soften
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 apple, diced

Okay Now how to make it!
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Mix flour, salt and baking powder. In separate bowl,  cream butter and sugar. Add beaten egg and milk and stir. Then add flour mixture. Pour mixture into a greased 9" round pan, or a loaf works fine too. For the topping, mix together the butter, sugar, and cinnamon. (Personally, I do less of the butter and brown sugar since this is what liquifies and I don't like mine too gooey. I also add more cinnamon.) Put apples on top.  If you bake in 9" round pan, cook for around 30 minutes or until bread is cooked. Timing might change.

Okay, sorry no photos of it, I forgot my camera! So enjoy the bread, but remember it is a bit gooey and messy, but delish!!!

D.I.Y. Upcycle T-shirt Scarf in under 10 minutes

That's right, I said it. A t-shirt scarf in under 10 minutes. Even the crafting challenged can do this easy project. I made a few for my mom and aunts last Christmas, and they all really liked them. Ignore the bad photos to go along with this post though, we are still getting our house into livable shape AND photographing your own project is a skill I need to work on.

Materials: This is easy!

• good scissors
• a t-shirt. I would recommend the larger the better, this was an X-L I thrifted and washed. I also recommend one without a logo/printed on, that stiffness that usually comes with design/logos make ones of the steps really hard.

So now what do I do? 

Lay the shirt flat, cut the hem off at the bottom and set aside. This project is so easy, you don't even need straight cuts.

Start on the left side of the shirt and cut horizontal strips about 1 inch thick. Again, they do not have to be terribly even. Cut until you reach a pocket/design/or sleeves and discard top half.

It should look like this when you are done. 

Take each strip and pull on them gently. These will make them longer and roll them so make them fit better in your scarf. Make sure to do this to every strip, and pull until it is the length you want. 

Remember that hem from the beginning? Yeah, bring that back and cut it on one side to make one large strip. Bunch all the stretched strips together and at the back tie the hem around the bundle. Just make a simple tie, with a long enough ending that sticks out to end the scarf. Then start wrapping the hem around the bundle. I usually do about 5 wraps.

Then tie the lose end of the hem to the original knot end of the hem sticking up. Cut off excess and tuck strips under the wrap. 

 

 

This is the finish product folded in two. 

Here is it is on me, after a long day, hence the hair. 

Anyway, this project is really simple. The hardest part is the hem wrapping, which once you get it is a breeze. Enjoy making these bad boys for the upcoming cold weather (let's hope! 80 degrees in October is just wrong!)

Fall Recipe: Crockpot Apple Cider

It is officially fall! However, Illinois did not get the memo and it has been around 80 degrees all week. No sweatshirt weather here, which is my favorite kind of weather. Keith is back to full time work and full time school, so our visiting hours are very limited. He asked if we could go to the apple orchard after work on Saturday, but everything closes at 6 and he didn't get home until 5:30. So, I decided to bring it to him. I went to the farmer's market in town and picked up two cider mill donuts. Then I made a pot of apple cider in my crockpot. It was super easy and really, really delicious.

Recipe: Crockpot Apple Cider

Ingredients: 

• Apple juice (since it was only two of us, we got a small one)
• Cinnamon sticks
• Caramel Syrup
• Crockpot
• Mulling spices (optional, but delicious)

So, how do I make this delicious beverage?
Pour the apple juice into the crockpot. I have done this for a large crowd and used around 2.5 large bottles of apple juice, but this time it was only us so we went with a small bottle. Then add cinnamon sticks. Again, this depends on your crowd, for our small bottle we only put one in, for a larger bottle I would add 2. So, for around 2.5 of the larger bottles I added about 5 or 6 sticks in there. I also put in a tablespoon of mulling spices for good measure. Put the crockpot on high for about 1 hours, then low for 1 hour. (or you could do low for 3 hours, it's just to get the cinnamon and mulling spice flavor spread out through the drink).

When its time to serve, I had to use a ladle and a sieve, to get out the larger pieces. Some recipes will tell you to put the caramel syrup into the crockpot and let it cook. I did that last time and it became almost like a pulp and didn't add anything for me. This time, I poured the warm apple cider in a mug, then put in the caramel syrup into my mug. It worked like a charm.

Optional, again: Keith and I had some caramel apple flavored vodka we had laying around and since we were staying in for the night decided to add some of that to our drinks. The result was delicious. But again, you need to drink responsibly and be over 21 to indulge :) 

Well, I am ready for the fall and hope you are now too with this recipe. Cheers.