Easy Fix- Broken Purse Strap

Remember my Michael Kors bag? The one with the broken strap? Well I looked everywhere for a strap to replace it but couldn't find one so I came up with my own solution. I used this chain that I had (nice, long, and strong) and attatched it to the loops on the bag. Good to go, right? Well I used it to lug my books and computer around and it pretty much killed my shoulders. So for a while I wrapped a scarf around it and that was... better but I needed a more permanent solution. And this is what I came up with!

 So all you need is an old belt (preferably one that matches), a needle, and some heavy duty thread (I used button thread because that's what I had).
 

Cut two pieces of your old belt for a shoulder "guard", mine were about 4" long.

Then all you do is sandwich the chain between the two pieces of belt, making sure the chain is in the middle. Also, (IMPORTANT!) make sure that the "guard" is centered at the top of the chain (mine ended up a little off center).

Then sew through the whole length of the guard, making sure to sew through the chain.

Last, round the edges of your guard (totally optional).

I'll admit that this isn't the prettiest fix but hey, it sure does help! Maybe I'll wrap some pretty fabric around it some day. I really love the gold chain though. It works perfectly! This is definitely my new favorite bag!

On a side note, our fridge broke yesterday! Ugh. However, I single handedly (ok, maybe with a little telephone guidance from my dad) fixed it! And I couldn't be more proud of myself. It involved emptying all of our food, creating a make-shift cooler (holla!), and dissasembling my freezer! I felt like such a handy-man. And I must admit, my make-shift cooler (made of a plastic box, ice, and lots of thick blankets) turned out pretty darn good! The past week, I made a bunch of frozen dinners (lasagna, casserole, etc.) and I managed to save all of them, woohoo! And did I mention, I did this all at 2 o'clock in the morning? I ended up missing my alarm clock this morning, running late to drop off Eliza at mother's day out but made it just in time for my jazz dance midterm. I got home, turned my fridge back on and returned my food to it's rightful place. I also took this opportunity to do a fridge deep clean and got rid of a lot of stuff we don't need. Yay for decluttering! Ok, enough of my rambling. How was your day?

Chicken & Olive Pasta Casserole

I found this recipe a long time ago and fell in loooove! I'm a huge olive fan so it's kind of impossible not to like this. If you don't like olives, then I don't recommend it, or maybe you could just cut down on the olives but to me they are the best part! Anyways here's the recipe from Emeril's Potluck by Emeril Lagasse. It's a little time consuming so I made the whole thing and then froze half of it for later (it makes a lot!).

Ingredients:

2 chickens (I use about 1-3 lb of chicken breasts)

2 T plus 21/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 pound pasta, such as angel hair or linguine, cooked and drained
1 T plus 1/2 teaspoon olive oil
6 T unsalted butter
6 T flour
2 cups chopped yellow onions
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup chopped black olives
1/2 cup chopped green olives
1/2 teaspoon Emeril's Original Essence
2 T chopped pickled jalapenos
2 cups grated Parmesan cheese

Instructions:

Put the chickens in a large heavy pot with 2 T salt and the cayenne. Add enough water to cover. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium-low and cook until the chickens are very tender, about 1 hour (I only do mine for about 35-45 minutes because they are ususally done by then). Remove the chickens from the pot and reserve 3 cups of the stock. Set aside.

Bring a large pot of water with 1 teaspoon salt a 1 tablespoon olive oil to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until al dente, about 7 minutes. Remove from the heat, drain, and rinse under cold water. Toss the past with the remaining 1/2 teaspoon olive oil and set aside.

When the chicken is cool, remove the meat from the bones, discarding the rest.

Preheat the oven to 350.

Combine the butter and flour in a heavy saucepan over medium heat and whisk to blend. Cook, whisking for 2 minutes. Add the onions and celeryand cook, stirring, until just soft, 2 to 3 minutes.

Gradually add the reserved chicken stock and whisk to blend.

Cook stirring, until smooth and slightly thickened. Add the chicken and olives and season with the remaining salt, the Essence, and the jalapenos. Remove from the heat. Add 1 cup Parmesan and stir to blend.

Spread half of the pasta in a 9X13 baking dish.

 Spoon half of the chicken mixture over the pasta and sprinkle with 1/2 cup of the Parmesan.

 Spread the remaining pasta over the Parmesan.

Top with the remaining chicken mixture. Sprinkle the casserole with the remaining 1/2 cup Parmesan.

Bake until bubbly and the cheese has melted, about 20 minutes. Remover from the oven and serve warm.

Can you say yumm?! My mouth is seriously watering as I look at the pictures. This is one of my favorite meals and it's even better the day after! Well, I better go get myself a snack before my stomach eats itself. Have a great monday everyone!

Couch

Well guys, remember my couches? Yeah, beige was not such a great idea. They have had milk spilt on them, blackberries smeared on them (those stain like no other!), sticky jelly fingers wiped off on them, and now permanent marker rubbed all over my poor couches. Soo, I've been looking for inspiration to re-do them... again. But this time I'm planning smarter. Here's some pretties that I came across in my search.

I love the colors in this

Couch Makeover

I've been in love with this Pallet Daybed for a looong time.

DIY Garden Sofa

Bathtub Couch

Cool Yellow Couch

And on a somewhat unrelated note:

Hanging Branch

One of my favorite blogs featured on Oh Dee Doh: Paper Airplane Garland

Map Airplanes, yes please!

While looking for inspiration, I came across this cool site: Decor Hacks. Also, cover up scratch marks on a couch with doilies? Yes please!

Hope everyone had a great weekend. Mine was... memorable. I think I'll take myself thrifting tomorrow to get back on track. I'm actually trying to simplify my house and fill it with things that I absolutely love/can't live without because I'm tired of clutter....we'll see how that goes!



   

Map Your Heart

I found this on pinterest and thought it was sooo cool! My second thought was- Hey! I can make this! My dad is kind of a hoarder and has probably 1,000 maps lying around so it was perfect.

Here's my version:

I bought these shadow box frames from Wal-Mart for probably $5 each.

I spray painted them white.

Then got out the old atlas my dad found for me...

I cut out a heart from a regular piece of paper and traced it onto my map. I just chose a random, pretty spot but you could choose a place that is special to you.

 I cut out two without even realizing it! Perfect!
 Stick some tape to the back. I put two pieces in the middle so my heart could kind of bend and lift since it's in a shadow box, give it a little dimension, ya know?

Stick it on the back of your frame. I personally liked the brownish background but you could also use paper to add a different color.

And put your frame together! Look how pretty!

And lastly hang those babies up! There has been a blank spot here for a long time and they filled it perfectly. Now the wall is complete, maybe I'll share a room tour soon?

Also, here's Eliza going to school on Thursday. This little, vintage dress is size 6-12 months and she still fits it at two! I can not tell you how happy that made me. It's just too cute to not take pictures of. This is her "cheese" face, haha, little goofy goober (:

It's finally friday. This week was exciting but tiring! Last night I was sooo exhausted but I got a really great night sleep. Eliza and I didn't wake up untill 11! We cuddled in bed for a while and played. Then Brandon suprised me with a bouquet of the most perfect fall flowers and breakfast burritos! My morning was grrreat. I'm ready to get some stuff done and catch up on homework and work work this weekend. Brandon also wants to go on a date, he's on a role! Any exciting plans for you this weekend? Here's a little play by play from our playing/cuddling session this morning:

Me: (Hugging eliza as she tries to escape)  I just love you!
Eliza: (Breaking free from my grip, turning to face me with her head cocked to the side and smiling) I just love you too! (then diving towards me with her arms out, tackling my face) I love you more!
Me: (Returning the "hug") No, I love you more!

Eliza's such a morning person, it's crazy (maybe that's all kids?) Once she gains consiouscness, those bright blue eyes pop open and on a good day it's accompanied with a smile. And then it's up she goes! Sometimes I'll get her to "cuddle" (aka she rolls all over me) while I try to wake up. And she's getting to the age where she just says the darndest things, she suprises me everyday. I guess I should be over it by now but I don't like to believe how grown up she's getting! I tell her I love her probably a hundred times a day so I shouldn't be so suprised when she says it back but it just melts my heart! I mean come on, look at that little face. Oh, the life of a mother.

Attention!

All you bloggers and store owners! I'm planning on doing a mini revamp of my blog and want to add a space for "advertising" if you may. NOT paid advertising, free! I wanted to add a column for buttons to promote other stores/blogs! I haven't decided on how many spots there will be or sizes yet, I'll get back to you on that but if you have a blog or store, send me a link! As part of the blogging community, I feel it's my duty to help support the people around me so that's exactly what I'm doing. Plus I'd love to check out what you got goin'! I'm open to anything so don't be shy. Eeek, can't wait!

Etsy!

In case you didn't read catch the news before, I decided to move all my vintage wares back over to Etsy! I was really struggling with my Big Cartel store because I didn't have a budget for advertising so I was going no where, and fast! So, instead of wasting the hard work I did over at Big Cartel, I split up my goods between the two sites. And I couldn't be more happy! I think all my vintage inventory is finally transfered over and I've started adding a few new things to the mix so I thought I'd share.

Navy School Girl Dress

Black Sunflower Dress

Violet Floral Dress

 

Black Formal Dress

Floral Fitted Dress

In other news, I'm tired. Like really tired today. Eliza was up coughing all night. I tried the whole steamy bathroom thing and it didn't work, I've tried giving her tea, and I tried giving her water but that didn't really work either (we ended up spilling that in the middle of the night all over our bed!). Any suggestions on how to sooth a cough? We were sick a couple weeks ago but still have a nasty cough and I don't know how to get rid of it! Help!