Pretzel Jello, Anyone?

Tomorrow evening, the ladies in my ward (church congregation) are getting together for some fun, food and fabulousness.

I was asked to bring a yummy treat. 

Healthy or not. 

I decided "not". Why? Because I've had a hankering for Pretzel Jello lately. 

I don't remember exactly when it was BUT my sister Kimberly, who is basically a rock star chef, baker, etc., made it for a sister's dinner awhile back. 

It was divine and I just had to make it again.

So I found a recipe on Pinterest (add that to the list, too!) and decided I should make it tonight, seeing as how I probably wouldn't have time to do it tomorrow.

Anyway, you can click on the picture for the recipe. 

 I actually hate slicing strawberries so instead I put them in my blender and "chopped" them into little chunky pieces, like I would have if I were making strawberry salsa. I like the texture more. 

You can sub out the regular cream cheese and cool whip for fat free versions if indulgence isn't your thing.

There is also sugar free jello, but with all the sugar you add to this dessert I'm not sure it would make a difference...

Anyway, I ended up using WAY more than 1 and 1/2 cup of crushed pretzels. I used almost 4. Good thing I had the monster bag of pretzels from Costco! 

I also made two pans (meaning I doubled the recipe, I didn't split it) so tat Neil could benefit from it too. 

Sometimes I feel bad for the guys because us ladies are always making yummy treats that somehow they never get a taste of. So, Neil has a whole pan of Pretzel Jello to himself. 

Happy Eating!


P.S.-LET THE JELLO SET longer than you think before pouring it on top. Not all the way, mind you, just some of the way. But seriously. 

Pinterested?

I am a Pinterester. I get on a pin, pin, pin and rarely do I ever actually make something I've seen or pinned. 

Well, not anymore my friends. 

I realized today (as I was hunting down craft supplies) that I am currently in the process of working on THREE pinterest pins at once. 

Yes, that's right. I am being crafty. 

It hasn't been as easy as I had hoped it would be to find all the supplies. 

In fact, were it not for Ebay and Amazon and Google, I wouldn't have found important pieces for my crafting. 

None of them are done as of yet but I will post the picture of the pin so you can see what I'm up to. 

Pinterest Craft Number 1:

The Picture Wall. I have one already and I don't really like it so I'm stealing this idea. So there. 

Sadly, I was truly on my own for this, minus the picture for inspiration. There is no description, no location for where she found her ampersand (which are down near impossible to find and the one I did find, on Ebay, wasn't as cute) and no location for where she obtained the frames. 

Anyway, I went to IKEA (LOVE IT) and bought the Ribba brand frames. They didn't have one frame for 2 4x6 pics so I bought two 4x6 frames to replace each of them (a total of four 4x6 frames). It is working just fine in the layout. 

There are other brands, obvi, but if you go to IKEA pick out what works best for you. We liked the dimension that the Ribba brand frames add.

As for the letters...uhg. Here in my neck of the woods there is never one store that has all the letter I need in the style I want. Lucky for me, I went by Michael's. I never go to this store. I feel like it's more expensive and less organized than Hobby Lobby or JoAnn's. I was originally going to buy cardboard letters and paint them but decided to go with the black letters I found at Michael's. They actually had ALL THE LETTERS! I didn't realize that one looks like it's been used as a frizbee though so that's being exchanged tomorrow. (And rumor on the street is that Michael's has ampersand signs but I am pretty sure I walked scoured that ENTIRE store to no avail. I suppose I'll have to look again.)

I ordered my pics but they aren't in the frames yet. Once I get my display up, I'll post a side by side comparison. I'm quite excited really.

Pinterest Craft Number 2:

The button "O"

This was a pin that linked to an Etsy shop where you could buy this lovely darling for a whopping $85!

Um, excuse me? I don't think so. Rude. 

So, I decided that I could totally do this! I know how to sew a button, I know where to find that kind of linen! I even know where to get a cheap frame! 

What I overestimated was the amount of light blue buttons in a variety of sizes that one could find.

Seriously, folks? Nobody has a bulk package of multi-size, light blue buttons? 

When I got home (semi-peeved about the lack of buttons) I Googled it. And I found a pound of light blue buttons for $3 ($3.99 shipping). 

BOOM BABY!

Take that Etsy shop crafter! 

(I'm really not out to get Etsy shop owners, just a disclaimer.)

I have also been on the hunt for awhile for a cute frame. I wanted something antique like but in my neck of the woods, the second somebody mentions to a thrift store owner how "antique like" that frame really looks, BAM! You're $15 price tag just received another zero ($150). I am not kidding! And I also do not approve. Vultures.

So today, while at Hob Lob, I came across some frames in the clearance section. Most of them were too small or too big (like...WAAAY too big). I already knew what our IKEA frames looked like so I decided on a simple, clean lined, black frame. 

$5.20 

"Heaven, I'm in Heaven..." 

I bought some very light green thread to sew the buttons on with (our color scheme is light blue/light green) for $1.39 at JoAnn's, but I also used my coupon so I'm not exactly sure what it ended up costing me. 

I got the linen on sale at JoAnn's as well. Normally $16.99per yard, I got a yard for 50% off because it was on sale! ($8ish dollars-I had a coupon for 30% off my entire purchase so the fabric turned out to be a little less than half off.

With that much fabric, I could make two of these and have some fabric left over.

So, the grand total for this project was about $22 give or take a few cents. Compared to $85? I'm good with that. 

Pinterest Craft Number 3:

The Fourth of July Star. Or, at least, that's what I'm calling it.

The lady who pinned this also didn't say where she got a couple of things. One in particular...THE STAR!

Bless my ever loving feet for carrying me around and around and around trying to find a dang 6" metal star! The craft stores failed me but good ol' Ebay was there to save the day. 

I found this star and once I get it I am going to paint it a dark blue, like in the picture. I bought red and blue paint at JoAnn's for about $1.40 per 2oz bottles. The star was $7.99 and the best part? FREE SHIPPING! What a happy girl I was when I saw that!

I am actually going to use a canvas I bought for $2.50 at Hob Lob last year for the back instead of wood. 

I'm still not sure how to attach the star but I'm sure I'll figure something out...

So for a grand total of $13.30* (give or take) I will have my decoration for the Fourth of July! 

*That price kind of seems like a LOT but when I consider the ridiculousness I went through to find that star...I don't care.

So there you go. Once all my projects are done, I'll post side by side comparisons so you can see!

Vacation Day 7: The Scenic Route

Day 7 was a day for driving. 

Grandma drove into the city and picked us up. We began our journey with a quick look at the map and, of course, a chocolate frog. ;)

Lombard Street: The crookedest street in the world.

Coit tower off in the distance.

(Jumping the gun a bit with movie locations- ^ that shot was used in Alfred Hitchcock's, Vertigo. In fact, there is a house at the end of this twisty part of Lombard street that was used to represent where Scottie lived. It actually looks very much the same now as it does in the movie and I am kicking myself for not getting a pic of it!)

 I had been wanting to see some sights used in movies, etc. So we found/visited the following:

(I took this from inside the car.) This is the house used in Mrs. Doubtfire!

They used the actual address in the movie. Most movies will create a fake address.

Proof that I was actually there and didn't steal some one else's pic.

This person's house was used in The Princess Diaries to represent the school that Mia attends.

 After visiting those movie sights we headed to the Presidio. It was a very neat experience and Grandma showed us where she was born.

People call this the Arlington of the West

After the Presidio, we continued our journey and headed over to the Palace of Fine Arts. There is a really cool story associated with this building. It was built originally in the early 1900s as part of world's fair to bring in money for the city, as it had been recently devastated by a major earthquake. It was built using paper mache and balsam wood. It was never meant to be long lasting and by a year's time, it began to fall apart. Some wise individuals in the community petitioned to have it be made a permanent installment. Plans were made for such accommodations and the Palace of Fine Arts was reconstructed using long lasting building materials.

 It was very quiet and peaceful here. There wasn't much traffic and it was far enough away from the busy streets of downtown that it was easy to see why people wanted to keep it around.

While we were there, we met this guy. He was mad because I was too close. Too close to what, you ask?

Too close to soon to be Mama Swan. Her nest was caution taped off and she was very much protected by Mr. Swan.

This was someone's house/garden entrance. Oh, the life of the wealthy.

Ate here for lunch and wasn't impressed The waiters were slow to acknowledge you and then tried to rush you through your order as if you interrupted something better they had going on. They also weren't very nice about answering questions you may have had about the menu. 

I had a turkey sandwich-the bread was great but the turkey was so dry I had to chew it FOREVER. Not my fave.

Then we headed down the street to a bakery for dessert. MMM MMM YUM!

 After lunch we got back in the car. Nope! Our day wasn't over yet! Grandma continued on to another part of the city...more south and west I do believe.

By happen stance we drove by this place: The Palace of the Legion of Honor

I wish we had gotten out and taken a look around but we had places we had already planned to go. 

Now, if any of you are Alfred Hitchcock fans, you may recognize this building. 

Good ol' Al used this location in Vertigo. This was where the painting of Carlotta was hung, that Madeline was so mesmerized by.  This place gave me goosebumps for two reasons: 1- I was where Jimmy Stewart once was 2-The whole Madeline obsessed with Carlotta thing is just plain creepy. Anyway, I was glad we passed by but as I said before, I wish we had gone in and looked around. 

We took a drive over to Golden Gate park and walked around the beautiful Japanese Tea Gardens

These stairs were REALLY steep.

Those hanging flowers were my favorite part of the entire garden. They were lovely.

These Koi made me miss my little Fluffy who is now in goldfish heaven.

This bridge was easy to climb up and scary to climb down but it was cool.

Neil climbed up first and then I joined him.

Then it was off to Haight-Ashbury. I really wanted to see the "hippie" part of town.

You can't really tell because I was hanging out of the window as the car was driving to get this pic, but it is of the Haight-Ashbury cross street signs.

The last destination was one I was excited about. 

Can you recognize the pic below? 

Well, it's okay if you can't but growing up I loved the TV show, Full House. 

This location was used in the series' opening credits showing the family having a picnic on the hill in front of The Painted Ladies.

This was the house used to represent the Tanner household in Full House. The lady who lives there now is kind of a cranky woman, at least that's what all of my sources said. This was as close as I dared get to the house. (I can totally understand, to an extent, the lady's grouchiness. Living in a house where people believe the Tanner's to have lived...she probably gets pestered a lot. However, if you bought a house knowing it had been used for a very famous TV show, well, I can't say you weren't warned.)

Finally, after a LOOONG day of driving and stopping to look and then driving again we headed back toward the city. We found a yummy little joint for dinner called The Brick Yard. The service there was great but I do have to say that this city's lack of Dr. Pepper at restaurants is ridiculous. Seriously. 

Grandma went home and we hung out in our room and watched Escape from Alcatraz. It was actually a boring movie but it got us PUMPED for the next day. Why? Because Day 8 was the day we were to go to Alcatraz. 

Stay tuned.

Notice Anything...Different?

Like my ENTIRE blog? 

Yeah, well, my cousin Tori had her blog redone and I was feeling all sorts of envy. Her friend had designed her blog and I totally wanted in on the action!

Kaylie Marie is a genius when it comes to designing blogs. 

My blog is finally simple, fun and squeaky clean all because of Kaylie! She was quick, so sweet and really just very pleasant to work with. 

If you need a blog-lift, you should check her out! She's fantastic.

http://kayliemariehooser.blogspot.com/p/kayliemarie-designs.html

Go go go!!

Sprinklers

And I thought that I loved running through sprinklers as a kid!

I had no idea how wonderful it would be as an adult!
 It's summer which means that even at 6am it's too hot for me. I don't like being hot and I don't like being sweaty. (Sorry, all of you summer lovers. Unless I'm on a beach or at a pool, I DON'T like the heat.) Anyway, 6am is when I run. It's still not as cool as I would like it to be but it is the coolest part of the day (without having to wake up at an unruly hour).
 Each day that I run I become more and more grateful for those people that have the insight to water their lawns in the morning.

I'm especially grateful that the people who are in charge of this particular sprinkler have not fixed it yet. It's a lovely cool down, pick me up while I run.

Happiness.

The Bird That Just Might Die

Spring is fabulous. I love the weather, the colors and the birds. 

Most of the birds, anyway. 

You see, there is this one bird who thinks he's pretty fly. (Pun intended)

I don't even know what kind of bird it is but I do know that every morning, at 4:30am, WITHOUT FAIL, he decides that the world deserves to hear his obnoxious sounds. 

It's not a warble. It's not a song. It's not even a pleasant chirping.

No, no. 

It is just this horrid, loud and obnoxious:

CHIRP-SQUAWK

Over. And Over. And OVER! 

For a solid hour! 

I can't stand it anymore. 

If I find that dang blasted bird, I may just kill it.

Day 6: Exploring San Francisco

Day Six was great. That morning Neil and I ventured out a couple blocks from where we were staying and found a yummy cafe for breakfast.

It was so delicious but I could only eat half of my breakfast burrito before I was STUFFED!!

My day 6 outfit. I liked it. :)

After breakfast we headed back to the resort to meet up with grandma. She had "BART"ed in from her house to take us around San Francisco on foot/Cable Car. We went to Little Italy and Chinatown for the majority of the day.

This was where we caught the Cable Car just about everyday.

Coit Tower

I can't remember the name of this Cathedral but it was massive and very beautiful.

Pistachio Gelato in Little Italy. SO GOOD!

I'm pretty sure Neil tried all the flavors before he picked one. The guy at the counter was being funny and giving him a hard time about it.

Little Italy eventually runs right into Chinatown. It was quite the adventure. In fact, we were deciding where to eat lunch when this guy came over to us and told us he had the best place to eat and would take us there. It was kind of cool and kind of creepy at the same time. I had two constant thoughts: 1. This is so cool! We get an awesome tour guide and he's gonna show us some great places to eat. 2. I really hope he isn't leading us to our death.

The only picture I was able to take of "Jackie Chan the Second" That's what he told us to call him.

 

 

He gave us his phone number in case we were ever in the area again. So, if you're ever in the area and want a slightly creepy/cool experience, give Jackie Chan the second a call!

Chinatown: A-It smelled like fish no matter where you went. B) The "best" food in town wasn't bad but it wasn't good either. C) We got to see the Fortune Cookie Factory (which just so happened to be down a sketchy alleyway...) but I can't find the picture I took. D) Overall it was cool, but it was just like any other Chinatown.

 

After lunch in Chinatown and saying "SO LONG!" to our Chinese "friend", we headed down to Fisherman's Wharf

We rode this particular Cable Car quite a few times.

We found an antique arcade with so many fun old carnival games and attractions!

There were so many of these "What Will Your Future Career Be?"

And every single one of them included this lovely gem. Who wouldn't want to be a NUDIST?! I mean, c'mon!

On the wharf by the big famous submarine. The name alludes me...

Then we headed down the street and found a Chocolate Shop.

Yes, I bought a box of Jelly Beans and a Chocolate Frog.

On the Cable Car headed to dinner!

So funny thing, the cable car operators are relatively nice (minus the one butt stinker we had who yelled at Neil when Neil told him what stop we needed, which is what you're SUPPOSED  to do..that's another story) but they are fairly deaf. We kept trying to tell the guy we wanted to stop but they just kept on going. Good thing though because when they finally did stop. We were right next to this Italian restaurant.

As we were deciding what to eat, Neil noticed that the family that owned this restaurant is a family he knows from Manti!! What a coincidence! It was really yummy food too.

I don't remember the name of the dish I got but it was very tasty.

Raspberry Cheesecake. HEAVEN.

Neil got this little lovely. Again, I don't remember the name but it was also pretty good.

Finally, after walking and riding the cable car all over (or that's what it felt like), we headed back to the resort for a very well deserved night of sleep. :)