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Wednesday, June 11, 2014

DIY Grapevine Wreath

I love wreaths. I think they're adorable. I think they can make a boring front door fun. And I think they're ridiculously easy to make. I've been really crushing on the grapevine wreaths with flowers and letters, so...
Ta-daaaa!
My very own. FYI everything at Jo-Ann fabrics is crazy cheap and on sale. These wreaths are really easy to make. I only needed 4 things and it cost less than $10. Hell yeah! In case you're wondering, I'm not a self-centered lady, boyfriend's name is Tommy. So the T is both of us! 
Here are the things I bought:

So basically, I cut the long stems apart and just bent the wire into the shape of the wreath. Then I started layering them on, tucking the stems securely into the grapevines, until I got the fullness I wanted. Easy peasy. Next, I chopped a majority of the hydrangea stem off, leaving about 1 1/2-2 inches of stem. I literally just shoved the stem through the grapevines where I wanted it. Lastly, I painted my T with a metallic gold acrylic that I had, waited for it to dry, and hot glued it to the wreath. Presto! Wreath complete!
I had some white ribbon with metallic gold polka dots, but I can't seem to locate it. Once I do, I might add a bow around the T. Or maybe I'll paint a chevron pattern on the T. I don't really know yet. 

I think it looks nice on my boring old door. 
P.S. My apologies for the crappy iPhone photos. I'm working on looking into some proper lighting for my photos. Any tips? Leave a comment! 😁

Tuesday, June 10, 2014

What's Cookin' Wednesday

Chickpea Curry with Coconut Rice and Homemade Naan!


Uhhh... yum. The title says it all. Boyfriend's sister was going to have dinner with us last night, and he loves Indian. I've only made a couple attempts at making Indian food (this Coconut Curry Lentil Soup, which was amazing), but it's something boyfriend and I both love. So, try, I must. Here I am worrying she'll be like, "wtf are you serving me?" and then she cancels. :( Lame, but dinner was delicious! Took me a good amount of time, but that's because I just did everything at once.
Warning: it's super filling. So many veggies & chickpeas. <3

Onward to the recipe! I prepared the naan first, as it needs an hour to rise.
Ingredients
2 cups flour (I used whole wheat)
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 Tbsp sugar
1/8 cup hot water
1/4 heaping tsp active dry yeast
3/8 cup warm milk
1/2 cup greek yogurt
4 cloves roasted garlic
melted butter for brushing

Combine the sugar and warm water until dissolved. Mix in the yeast and set aside for about 10 minutes, until the mixture forms bubbles and smells all kinds of yeasty. Once the yeast mixture has started bubbling, add in the yogurt, warm milk, and roasted garlic. Mix well!  In another bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and baking soda. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ones, stirring to combine. Use your hands to combine well. Once completely mixed all up and the dough forms a ball, cover with a damp towel and set aside (in a warm area) to rise for about an hour. If you're being smart and preparing beforehand, you can refrigerate the dough for up to 24 hours.
After about an hour, cut the dough into 6 equal chunks and roll out to about 1/4 inch thick. Brush butter onto both sides of the dough and place in a hot cast iron pan. Cover and let bake for about a minute. It should form some bubbles. 
Flip the naan and cook the other side until slightly browned. 
BAM! Homemade naan.

Onto the next part: Coconut Rice.
This part is really simple.
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups jasmine rice
1 1/2 cups light canned coconut milk
1/2 cup coconut water
1 Tbsp oil (I used olive, but coconut would be great!)
A bit of salt.

Pop the first 3 ingredients into a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Once it's at a boil, reduce the heat and cover, stirring occasionally, until the liquid is absorbed.
Stir in the oil and set aside until the curry is done (hopefully you've started the curry instead of watching the rice boil :P).

Curry time!
Ingredients:
1 1/2 Tbsp oil (I used olive, but again, coconut would be great)
2 leeks, cleaned and sliced
1/2 a red pepper, chopped
2 cloves of minced garlic
1/2 tsp ginger (fresh is better)
2 Tbsp red curry paste
1/3 cup edamame
1 (14 oz) can coconut milk
1 1/2 cups cooked chickpeas

Heat the oil in a medium skillet. Toss in your leeks, garlic, and pepper. Cover and cook until the veggies are tender, about 5 minutes. 
Stir in the ginger and red curry paste, and cook for another 5 minutes. Then toss in the edamame and coconut milk.
 
 
 Let your little concoction come to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and simmer for about 10 minutes. Add the can of chickpeas and simmer for 5 minutes.

Pile some rice on your plate and top with curry, and try not to eat all the naan.

Delicious end result:

Let me know if you try this and how it turns out for you! It's boyfriend approved!

This weekend, I want to start refinishing my old desk. I'll post some pictures and simple instructions if it turns out right. :)

Monday, June 9, 2014

Motivation Monday

What day is it?

Still can't sleep, and I have to get up in 6 hours. Quite honestly, I know I won't have any motivation tomorrow. I'll be exhausted, jet lagged, and 3 hours behind mentally. It's awful. But I'm keeping my goals in mind and restarting my fitness journey full force... soon. I just need a minute to catch up. (;

I'm not sure who this woman is, but she is absolutely stunning. Currently, this is my own personal piece of motivation. I don't have any desire to be stick thin. I just want to be healthy.

Sunday, June 8, 2014

California

Home

I had a great time out in California with boyfriend and my family. He got to meet all my siblings, and they armed him with lots of defense against my dad (which was not needed in the end!). I'm always sad to leave, but boyfriend really thinks he could live out there! :D
I'm still 3 hours behind and perusing through the photos I took while I was out there. So, here are some that I'm diggin'. 


California Academy of Sciences!
Looked awesome and it was free the day we went, but the line was a good mile-ish long.



Victoria, the Goddess of Victory.
(and my name)

He's such a ham. He saw me with the camera and posed. 😒

I'll be adding more, these were just some of them that I loved when I was going through the photos this evening.

Introduction

Hello!

I'm Tori. I'm a Job Coach for adults with Autism. Where I work, we try to help people with disabilities find a job they can keep, teaching them life skills and job skills along the way. It's a very rewarding job and the people I work with are wonderful, but the job is stressful. I've had to find many outlets for my stress and anxiety. These came in the form of working out, cooking/baking, and doing DIYs around the house. So I thought...
Why not make a blog like all those I visit?! (:
That's where this will come in. I'll be posting motivation for fitness, my cooking adventures (did I mention boyfriend and I are vegetarians?), and the DIYs I have planned. I'll probably throw in some random things that I do, too! I live in Ohio, so it won't be too entertaining!

By the way, this is me:


Please let me know if there's anything you'd like to see or if I'm being ridiculous! 😜

Tori 

Saturday, June 7, 2014

Friday Favorites!

(Again, a day late!)

1. Niece and Nephew

I haven't seen my nephew since he was born, and this is the first time I've met my niece. I'm the only one she would let hold her. <3

2. The Whole Family

I've never been to California when all of us siblings have been under the same roof. It was a wonderful bonding time.

3. Boyfriend

Last night, boyfriend asked my dad's permission to marry me. <3 Enough said.



Friday, June 6, 2014

What's Cookin' Wednesday

(a day late!)

Chai Spiced Sugar Cookies

So, tomorrow my little brother is graduating high school! Yikes!
Instead of the traditional cake, the family is choosing to do a bite-sized dessert bar. That is a-okay with me! They've put me in charge of desserts (which seems to happen frequently when I'm out here). Brother only gave me one thing that he wanted... Chai Spiced Sugar Cookies. I made these this past Christmas, and I guess he hoarded them all. I can't imagine...

I made my cookies about silver dollar sized. Also, I couldn't find cardamom in either store I ran into, and instead, threw in some nutmeg. They turned out amazing
Give them a try and let me know what you think!