Coconutties

It's freezing here in Alabama, literally. It has been colder than I remember it being in a long time and Thanksgiving is tomorrow. I have been trying to keep warm today and spent most of it inside making food for tomorrow. It's truly crazy how times flies by more and more everyday. I cannot believe Thanksgiving is almost here and the year will be ending soon.  I have so many things to be thankful for this year and I won't bore you to death with a long list like everyone is doing these days (sorry if you are one of those people, it's very wonderful to be thankful for all of those things).  I will keep my list short and sweet, I am most thankful for family and friends. Without them life would be one boring, unfunny, sober place to dwell. So here's to all of you, you know who you are...much thankful for your place in my life and mine in yours. 

On to the important thing about Thanksgiving... Food! These coconutties are a favorite of mine. They are also pretty simple and easy. They are like an almond joy but with no almond. 

Coconutties (this is a stupid name, but that's what everyone in my family calls them in loss of an official title for them).

1 bag of shredded coconut

3/4 can sweetened condensed milk

1 cup of powdered sugar

1 tbsp. crisco (yep, crisco)

I tsp. vanilla extract

1 bag milk chocolate chips

Start by mixing coconut, sugar, milk, and vanilla with spoon or paddle attachment. 

Should resemble this...

Mix well, then refrigerate for about 30 minutes.

 

While waiting, line a cookie sheet with foil. After they mixture has cooled use a small spoon to spoon out small proportions.

Use hands to form small ovals, then place on cookie sheet. May need to wash your hands every so often to get the sticky off so ovals form better. 

Stick back in fridge for about 30 minutes. 

Melt chocolate and crisco in double boiler on stove. The crisco just this out the chocolate and makes it easier to dip, plus it makes it taste even better!

 

You could use dark chocolate if you prefer.

Remove coconut from fridge and using a fork dip each into chocolate coating the whole thing, then place back on lined sheet.

Refrigerate for about an hour at least. Now, eat them. 

I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving.

Much love,

Meg

Applesauce

So one of my favorite things has always been applesauce. I can remember eating a huge jar full each week. It is one of the easiest things to make, and perfect served warm on these chilly November nights. (Yes it's actually been pretty chilly in Alabama at night). 

Stovetop Applesauce

6-8 apples (any kind will do)

1 tbs. cinnamon

I tbs. nutmeg

1/2 c. Brown sugar

1/4 c. Honey

3/4 c. Water

If you are just cooking for 2 like me, 2 apples are just the right amount for 1 serving each.

Peel apples and chop up into bite sizes pieces. Add to boiler with remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil, then simmer for just a few minutes. 

At this point you can either leave in chunks, or break them up with a blender or whisk. 

This will stay good in the fridge for about a week. Enjoy! 

Meg

Beeswax Candles

I have a soft spot for anything dealing with bees. Growing up, my neighbor was like a second father to me. He took me everywhere, bought me whatever I wanted, taught me the importance of being an Auburn tiger, and so much more. I began helping him in his shop as soon as I could crawl, and was running a table saw at the age of 8. He taught me how to put things together, and how to create. 

Me at about 2 doing a little cleaning in Buck's shop. 

He was a farmer, a carpenter, and a beekeeper. He would take me along to check on the hives. I can remember being surrounded by bees but I never was really afraid because he never seemed afraid. I would help him harvest the honey and that was the best part. Buck died when I was about 14. I decided to travel to Colorado with my best friend and her family. I will never forget the call I received from my dad. I had to fly back home to Alabama,(first flight I ever took) and it was so tough. He had a sudden heart attack.  There is not a day that goes by that I don't think of him. My dad does a lot of woodworking now and he even uses the tricks and trades that Buck taught him. So I decided to make some beeswax candles, and when I opened the box of wax, the smell automatically took me back to Buck's shop. 

Buck and I in my parent's backyard. 

Beeswax is great to burn for many reasons it produces negative ions when burnt and that helps get rid of bad stuff such as pet dander, dust, allergens, etc. Plus it smells subtle and warm. 

Materials needed:

Beeswax(I ordered this online, but you may be lucky enough to find some locally) I used about 1.5 lbs for this project.

Coconut Oil

Pliers

Large gauge wire or wick holders

Clothespins 

Jute

Container ( these I made from concrete, poured into styrofoam cup, inserted smaller cup inside, taped down, and let dry).

To begin I melted my wax and oil in a pan I purchased just for this at the goodwill.

Melt on medium, and add in about 3 feet of jute while it's melting. This preps it to become a wick.

While wax is melting, I cut down small pieces of wire to use as wick holders. Real wick holders would work better but I didn't have any of those. 

Once wax is melted, carefully pull out wick and cut down when cooled off to sizes you want them. I then clamped these wire c's to one end of wick. Place in container and use clothespin to hold up.

Should look something like this.

Then pour your wax mixture a little at a time into a styrofoam cup, and carefully pour into each container. Let cool, then trim wicks. Boom, you just made a candle. Or you could just skip all of this and come buy these from me at the farmer's market. 

 Enjoy. 

-Meg

Bacon Cheese Dip

So, I love cheese, and bacon, so I found a similar recipe and modified it. 

Ingredients:

I packet of Lipton Onion Soup mix

1 bag shredded cheddar

1 bag of real bacon bits

1/2 cup mayo

1/2 cup sour cream

8 oz. cream cheese

Salt and pepper

Oregano

Cayenne

Basil

Preheat oven to 375 degrees

Mix all ingredients together, and season to taste with salt, pepper, oregano, and basil. Place in baking pan, and bake for 20-30 minutes until golden brown. Serve with chips or crackers. Now, good luck on not eating the whole pan...it's addicting. Hope you are all enjoying the chilly fall weather.

-Meg

B is for...

Babies.

I have to admit the amount of courage I am looking for to post this is hard to find. This is a subject that for most peoe is warm and fuzzy. My life has never quite happened the way I figured it would, and for the most part I am quite ok with that.  For example, I never thought I would have married the man that I did or be 27 years old when I graduated from college, but both of those happened along with many more outcomes. But I have to admit having a baby was never much of a doubt. I would get married, and when I wanted, I would have a baby. 

Well, God decided it wouldn't quite play out that way for me. I spent a big portion of my life trying not to get pregnant, and when I actually want it to happen, well, nothing does. It has been over a year and almost a half now since we started trying. I told myself I wouldn't share my story until the fabulous day comes when I find out I am going to be a mom, but something told me to do it now, maybe to help someone who may be in the same position I am in.  It's extremely frustrating when everywhere you go and all you do the conversation ends up with the b word. Whether it's your friends bragging on their own, or a relative asking when you are going to have one. 

I have only been married for 2 years, yet the pressure of having a little one is like a meth head on a an episode of breaking bad. I imagine what my life would be like as a mom, and how it would feel to have a mini me or Shannon, and it is a dream. I can't imagine a world where a part of us recreated ceases to exist. So part of me becomes bitter. I find myself becoming mad when I find out people are pregnant, and sometimes cry until I can't breathe when it becomes too much. It seems unfair to live in a world where my husband and I have so much love for each other and can't have a baby yet, when people who don't even care get pregnant at the drop of a hat. 

If it wasn't for my level- headed husband I would have had a mental breakdown by now. He always reminds me that God has a plan for us. I know it hasn't been that long, but this post isn't just for me, it's for those of you out there that feel the same way and can relate. 

Oh and why is this stuff so expensive? Weird. 

-Meg

I need a vacation.

Lately I have been super busy. I had an open house for my studio, and then helped put together a mini music festival in my town. A small group of us meet weekly and planned it all out. We had no money basically for decor so it was all DIY. I am currently interning with the art teacher at the middle school so we painted rocks with positive sayings on them for weeks. The high school was awesome enough to chip in also. We lined the paths and stage with these guys.

We also painted the end of sticks and strung them from the trees. For lighting we borrowed lamps from our local habitat for humanity restore. We also created light pods from chicken wire and covered them with tissue paper and mod podge...boom a cheap really awesome light source when you stick a battery operated light under them.

We lit the pathway with brown bag luminaries for a dreamy October effect. 

Onto the important stuff, the music! My husband's band A Den of Thieves  opened up, followed by The Volks. The headliner is a band called Adron. Do yourself a favor and check them out.

It was so dreamy.

But now I am exhausted. October is my favorite month and I haven't really been able to enjoy it from being so busy. I need a vacation, preferably in Tennesee. I find myself just wanting to examine nature the older I get, and I am constantly amazed by it. I received a paper white plant in a mason jar from my cousin last year. It bloomed, then died off so I sat the jar outside an forgot about it since I could get the bulb to come out. I was outside a few nights ago and saw something green sprouting out if it. And bam, a little tiny baby paper white family.

 

 God is so amazing in all that he creates. I am craving simplicity in life.
Maybe soon I will find it. 

"You belong among the wildflowers,

You belong on a boat out at sea.

You belong with your love on your arm,

You belong somewhere you feel free."

-Tom Petty. 

Saw him once, but had a panic attack in the crowd and had to leave...ha. I missed freaking Tom Petty.

-Meg

 

Chickpea Salad!

There are some things that come along that you get hooked on, and chickpea salad from Publix was one of them when I traveled to UWF during the week. There isn't a publix where I live so I started making my own, and I am obsessed with it. I usually make a big batch on Sunday evening and eat on it all week. I never measure anything so I am going to try my best on the measurements. You can exclude anything you may not want to put in here.

    

Chickpea Salad-

2 cans chickpeas

1 can of black beans

2 carrots

1/2 cup dried cranberries

1 avacado

1 cup non GMO edamame

I head cauliflower

1/2 red onion

1/2 cup feta

1/4 cup pecans

2 tbsp cumin

2 cloves chopped garlic

1/4 c Extra Virgin Olive Oil

3 tbsp balsamic vinegar 

Salt & pepper

 

Chop up all of the veggies to bite size and add in everything else, stir, and enjoy!

This makes about 10 servings, so it can be cut in half if needed. Also, I add in fresh herbs when I can.

Hope you like it as much as I do!

-Meg

DIY Halloween Decor

Hello! I have been super busy lately trying to turn an empty room into an art gallery, somehow with the help of my wonderful friends and family I pulled it off in a week! We had an open house and I was so proud of what I accomplished! 

Some of the local art displayed in the loft. 

Pottery by Larry Manning.

Though it was fun, it was super exhausting and when I finally stopped, I realized it was my favorite month! So I decided to break out my little box of Halloween decor, and figured I would create a few more things of my own. Everything was simple to make! 

1. This is a black champagne bottle, with black lace wrapped around the base, and I simply stuck an orange taper candle in the top. You may have to share around the edges to get the candle to stick in the bottle. Also, spray painting any wine bottle black would work just as well.

2. Halloween banner- this was simply printed from a font that I downloaded here http://www.dafont.com/search.php?q=Kg+a+little+swag . I then cut out each letter and taped ribbon to the back.

3. Specimen jar- this is an old mason jar that I put an old wasp nest in (be sure all of them are dead!!!) there has been one hanging by my front door for months. Anything odd would work in here though, rubber eyeballs, plastic spiders with fake spiderwebs, etc. 

4. Vintage Halloween Pin Up wall- I have spent hours looking at old Halloween photography, and in your spare time, you should do the same, so many odd, creepy, and awesome things out there! These were just found pin up photos that I printed and drew a black border around. I then used the sticky lock tite putty to hang them in my bathroom. 

5. Creepy Vintage Halloween costume photos. These were done the same as the pin ups, but I added black lace to the wall as the background. 

Hope you have as much fun with Halloween as I do, plus the fall air here in Bama is so nice. There's a tropical storm on the way but it's perfect today! 

-Meg

Cardboard relief portraits

This project could be done from age 10 and up with most groups. We will be teaching this following a basic lesson on self portraits and proportions of the face.

Explain the way that a face is 3-dimensional and discuss what features stick out the most(such as the nose). Have students sketch out their face, then sketch out what shapes they need to make to build up their face. They may make each shape smaller and smaller to build it up. Here's an example;

Next, give the students slightly wet corrugated carboard, old boxes work great. Wetting the cardboard just makes it much easier to cut. Have the students use their sketch as a pattern and cut out each shape out of cardboard, and glue onto another square of cardboard. It should look something like this. 

After that, have students paint them! Voila! Cardboard relief self portrait!

-Meg

Fear on Friday the 13th

    (That's my cat George Jones exploring in the background)

I want to start by stating that it's nice to be posting this from my hammock on a Friday afternoon! I am currently interning at the middle school to be an art teacher, and one thing I have noticed is this state of fear students face. When does this occur? Every child usually loves art, and makes things with pride, but there is a point where they start to think their work isn't good,(when a lot of times it is) and they also think they aren't able or skilled enough to do certain things. How do we keep this moment from happening? In our adult lives we suffer from this also; like I'm scared to talk to that person, cause what if I say sounds dumb? We fear so much, and it's a beautiful thing to throw it to the wind and start doing things without fear. Don't get me wrong, I'm not suggesting we all just jump off a cliff or dress like lady Gaga, but loose fear that keeps us from learning and figuring things out. After all, wasn't that the best part of being a child? 

-Meg

      This weekend, use some crayons...

Dead Squirrel Morning

So, woke up to check on the squirrel this morning, only to find him dead. Apparently the heating pad has an auto cut off and he got too cold. Made me sad but I had to quickly get over it, to keep from letting my emotions get the best of me. Moving on, I have been working on new things for our local farmer's market, and decided to take a shot at these concrete planters you see tons of tutorials on all over the place. They are actually quite easy, and turn out really great. This has now stirred another idea, that as soon as I create I will be posting on here. 

Think anyone would buy these? I oddly find digging this moss out of the ditch in front of my house super fun. It's crazy I was thinking about this student in art class that is really good at drawing, yet he has cut a pasted images in no rhyme or reason to put in his theme book for 2 weeks now. At first it frustrated me to see him wasting his time and skill on this. But then I thought; don't we all want to to just cut and paste sometimes? As an artist I always feel like I need to be making super fantastic works. When sometimes I just want to make simple things, that require little thought. Cutting and pasting is necessary at times. Goodnight. 

-Meg

Another Creature

So today something rare happened; I actually had some free time so I decided to spend it in my hammock. After lying there for a while I hear what I think is a bird chirping in the bushes, and my cat Elvis is trying to attack it. As I get closer to try and save the pitiful bird I realize it is a tiny baby squirrel. I finally get him after smacking my cat with a stick, and then trying to get my dog Levi to spit the tiny squirrel out(he likes to keep tiny furry animals in his mouth, he never hurts them, just hold them in there) eventually I received him. He is the cutest!!! 

I realize he has a few scrapes so I call the vet to see what to do. I go to the local tractor supply and buy him some formula. I realize while I'm in the store that I have an animal problem. I can't go knowing that some little animal is suffering or alone. I need help. So now I'm stuck with this tiny little squirrel(he really is sooo cute) until otherwise. So now he is resting on a heating pad , getting syringe fed, and just livin' it up. 

Maybe I can find someone to take him in...if I can give him up. I feel like Snow White or some other dang animal lovin' Disney character. Ugh, what an uneventful, unglamorous life I live.  

Any squirrel raising advice is welcome.

-Meg

Here we go.

Well, I am new to blogging, so I figured if everyone else can do it, why not me? I only have a million things going on in my life, why not blog also? I enjoy viewing other's blogs, and I have so much to share as far as things I make, emotions I have, opinions, diy's, and lots of other crap I can share with this World Wide Web thingy. So a little about me, I am a 26 year old woman in the smack dab middle of the Deep South. I live in Southern Alabama and love it. I am an artist and currently working on my internship and hope to soon find a job as an art teacher. I am married with 4 cats, a dog, and a turtle named Myrtle. (No children, maybe I'm trying to make up for that with so many animals). I love music, wine, and anything to help me escape reality most days. My new favorite spot is a hammock my husband hung in my back yard this summer. I am not a mom, surrounded by friends that are moms, that can have it's positives and negatives. My husband is an artist too and part of me starting a blog is his fault, in that he has put this "I am do everything" mentality in my head. It's super annoying. I joke that sometimes I feel like Jen Anniston's character in Wanderlust where she can't commit to one thing and does random things such as writing a save the penguins children's book. So, I want to keep this decently short, so you don't get bored, not even sure if anyone is out there reading (crickets)....but trust me there is more to come!
-Meg

    This was taken at my In-Law's farm today. It is truly beautiful there.