DIY | When You Break The Wine Cork

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...sucks, doesn't it?!

This weekend, we opened up a bottle of Cabernet from 1982. Apparently, years ago, my great aunt's place flooded and they were forced to move the bottles. Sounds like they were upright for a short period of time... short but just long enough to dry out the cork.

So, when we tried to open this baby, it melted --- I mean crumbled --- into the bottle.

Crap.

Good thing we had coffee filters :)

Here's how to salvage your cork-filled wine:

Start by grabbing a coffee filter and placing the bottom of it inside the wine glass. Leave an inch or two for the filtered wine to collect. Then, fold the rest of the filter on the outside of the glass to keep it in place.

Pour wine through the coffee filter, slowly.

Wait for a few minutes (the wine needs to filter through) before removing the filter.

Look! Cork-less wine!

Scrabble Coasters

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A few months ago, I (intentionally) destroyed a game of Scrabble in order to make hallway art using the names of everyone in my family.

Whats-a-girl-ta-do-with-half-a-scrabble-game?

Mmmmmake coasters! Duh!

 

I tried to make sure that each coaster had at least one "inspirational" or "fun" 4 letter word - such as HOPE and LOVE above - but ended up with a few gems thrown in there too (like Fern, Aura, and Ador). Probably a good idea to scan your coaster before you start gluing to make sure you don't have any offensive words or expletives. 

Here's my work space. Go figure, there I am, drinking coffee, coaster-less! I was prepared with a hot glue gun, about 3 tubes of super glue, and an old W magazine.

One at a time, I transferred each scrabble tile to the W magazine. The first tile got glued down, but after that, instead of focusing the glue on the magazine (which would give you a flimsy coaster), I glued them to each other (which also glued them to the magazine in the process).

After they were done, I flipped them over and used an exacto knife to cut off the magazine at the edges (but the bottom of each coaster still features a page from W Magazine).

In the end, I must say, this was quite a pretty project! It should take around 30 minutes, provided that you're not clumsy like me (I glued my fingers together once, no lie).

I tied them up in twine and sent them off to a fellow coffee-and-tea-drinking-friend in Texas!

 

So how about everyone else? I've got leftover scrabble tiles... what shall I do?! I'm envisioning a necklace or more art. Thoughts? Anyone have a link to a good scrabble project? :)

Easy Homemade Coffee Cake For The Win!

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I love my coffee. I love sitting there, with a cup of Jo in hand, nibbling on some good old toast. But, unfortunately, I had a mishap recently. I burned my toast. It seemed like a sign. This day, I told myself, I was meant to burn my toast! This day, breakfast was meant for something more... 

Drama aside, I've always wanted to take a shot at a healthier version of coffee cake. This homemade version, using sparkling water instead of eggs/oil/butter, is pretty much perfect. There's no coffee in the recipe - but the brown sugar and cinnamon compliment a good old cup of Jo quite well. 

And I must say... this was the first time I warmed up the sweet cream cheese frosting I've used (though slightly altered) in recipes like Pumpkin Cream Cheese Cupcakes, Cake In A Jar, and Chocolate Cream Cheese Whoopie Pies... and the result is a sweet, coffee-cake drizzle that is to-die-for.

Prep time: 5 Minutes
Cook time: 35 Minutes
Total time: 40 Minutes
Yield: 10-12 Servings
Ingredients (Cake Batter):

• 1 box Vanilla Cake Mix
• 2 tablespoons Brown Sugar
• 2 teaspoons Cinnamon
• 12 Ounces Sparkling Water, Club Soda, or Tonic Water
• 1/4 cup Nuts (Pralines used here)

Ingredients (Crumble Top):

• 1 Cup Wheat Flour
• 2 Tablespoons Brown Sugar
• 2 Tablespoons Softened Butter
• 1 pinch Salt
• 2 Tablespoons Oats

Ingredients (Frosting Drizzle):

• 2 Cups Powdered Sugar
• 8 Ounces Low-fat Cream Cheese
• 1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
• 2 Tablespoons Softened Butter

Cooking Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325.
2. [For Cake Batter]Combine cake mix and sparkling water and mix well. Spoon about 1/2 of this mixture into two greased cake pans in random places. A smooth layer is not necessary - just spoon that baby in!
3. Add cinnamon, brown sugar, and (optional) nuts to the remaining batter. Stir well. Then spoon the remaining batter to fill in the cake pans. You should end up with a spotted-looking batter pattern.
4. Using a spoon, knife, or fork, slowly glide back and forth from left to right, somewhat mixing the two cake batters.
5. [For Crumble Top] In a separate bowl, combine Wheat Flour, Brown Sugar, Oats, and Salt. Mix well.
6. Add softened butter and knead with your hands until the butter has broken apart and you have a crumbly mixture. Add nuts if desired.
7. Sprinkle all of the crumbly mixture on top of both dishes of breakfast cake.
8. Bake in oven for 28-34 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
9. [For Frosting] In a clean bowl, prepare frosting by combining Powdered Sugar, Cream Cheese, Vanilla Extract, and Softened Butter. Beat on low for 30 seconds, then high for 2-4 minutes, or until it begins to peak.
10. Microwave frosting for 20-30 seconds. Stir. Then serve on top of breakfast cake with a cup of Jo on the side!

Prayer Jar: Hungry? Grab a Snickers -- I mean, Bible Verse.

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We've all seen the Snickers commercials (this is my most recent favorite).  "Hungry? Grab a snickers."  "You're not you when you're hungry."

What about when we are hungry for a pick-me-up?  Or hungry for inspiration?  Or hungry for comfort?  Once in a while, we all need a little bit of truth.

A few weeks ago, I was inspired me to share that soul-hunger-quenching happiness with a friend.  (Wait.  Do you quench hunger?  Or is that just thirst?).

My awesome, beautiful, lovey girlfriend (Hi, Kelsey!) lives in Texas.  Texas = far from Chicagoland.  As you might know, I have a habit of suddenly desiring to make things for people who live far away (Don't believe me? See here).  I should get a frequent buyer card with the Post Office.

I wanted to make her a collection of Bible verses that (1) were exciting to open -- aka pretty -- and (2) would last for a long time.  Hmm.  In order to make the gift last for a while, I wanted her to be able to read one at a time if she wanted to - so that it could be a quick thing at any hour of the day.  Solution?  She has to open each verse from a prayer jar.  

She got it in the mail last night - along with Claude 2.0!

So now, whether it's during her morning cup of coffee or her way out the door, girlfriend can reach in and grab a Bible verse for a little moment with God.  

BONUS POINTS: It's pretty, too!  This baby could sit on your dresser as decoration - and since it took me so freaking long to get to the post office, it actually did sit on my dresser for a week or so...

How did I make it (aka how can YOU)?

1. Collect Bible verses.  When I come across a verse that impacts my heart, I bookmark it on my iPhone with YouVerse (Bible App) or write it down on a notecard and put it on a board in my room...  --->
   So, when I began this project, I went back through those verses and picked out verses that would be generally applicable to daily life.  If you don't have a collection started but want to make something similar, I've attached the verses I used at the bottom of this post.
2. Handwrite the verses onto small sheets of paper.  Using patterned paper from an old note pad found in my basement, I wrote one verse on each small page (about 4x3).
3. Roll and tie.  I rolled each page up and tied a small little bow with twine.  
4. Make it pretty.  I put the little scrolls into a $4.99 jar from TJ Maxx.  Woah.  Me talking about TJ Maxx?  How unusual...

Best part about it?  They're super easy to roll back up and push back through the twine bow -- so if you're like me and would hesitate to unravel something pretty, no worries!  It's an easy fix

***If you're thinking of making something similar -- or just want to read what I put inside Kelsey's jar -- read on for the Bible verses I included.***

Kelsey, that means you have to stop reading this post now.  Use that gift of self control.