Nacional Dia de los Tortilla Chips

Today, National Tortilla Chip Day, is one of the most revered of the fried food holidays trailing only to National Fried Chicken Day & National Fried Clams Day- both heavy hitters in the fried food scene.


So go out and go crazy! Maybe get yourself some of those American Girl Doll Snack Chips! Go nuts!

Mama I'm comin' home.

Well, it's official, my little outdoor kitty is going to her new home this Saturday!  She's being adopted by a recently retired Grandmother, who used to own a craft store (my kinda lady!) and has been sadly cat-free for the last couple years.  Lil' Miss Grits will get to be an only-cat and there will be no stinky-ol' babies there to torment her.  It's the best possible scenario I could have hoped for and I owe it all to my wonderful friends who cared enough about this sweet little cat to tell their friends to tell their friends to tell their friends and help me spread the word about her.  It's bittersweet and I'll miss Gritsy waiting for me on my stoop when I get home from work every night but she deserves to have a bed and a scratching post and her very own caretaker to ignore to her heart's content.

Thanks to all of you for helping me find Gritsy a home!  You're the greatest!!

TODAY is Random Acts of Kindness Day

Today is Random Acts of Kindness Day, part of R.A.K. Week that goes through Sunday of this week.  The idea is for everyone to do one nice thing for another person and start a tidal wave of kindness that become contagious until people stop being huge jerks to each other.**  It's also a great excuse to just be nice for the day.   

(**Those may not be their exact words.)

Here are some ideas for your random act of kindness:

• give a stranger a compliment
• do the dishes for your spouse
• let that car merge ahead of you
• smile at a stranger
• forgive someone
• call a friend you know is going through a rough patch

It doesn't take much to make someone feel special and to change the whole course of their day.  Try it out, it'll probably put a smile on your face also.   

HAPPY RANDOM ACTS OF KINDNESS DAY...PASS IT ON!

Gather Here: Don't mind if I do

In honor of Random Acts of Kindness week I thought I'd share this quick story.  Not long ago I got an envelope in the mail from Gather Here- a super wicked crazy adorable sewing store & craft studio in Inman Square.  Inside there was a gift card for $25- awesome!- but it didn't say who it was from.  

"Hmmmmm, I wonder who this is from", I thought naturally. 

I asked Jeremy, called Liz, yelled down to Olivia, emailed my Sister, e-buggled Kristen and it wasn't from any of them.  That's when I had to seriously sit down and take inventory of my friends that a) are crafty and b) would have my address on hand and that's when it hit me, "ooooooh, it was AMY!"

It was so wonderful to get a random gift in the mail and the fact that it came unsigned turned it into an impromto treasure hunt which was awesome.  I made it over to Gather Here just the other day and here are the fabrics I came home with: 

I'm told they lovingly refer to the green fabric as the "q-tip fabric"....oh ya, I see it now.

  <3 thanks Amy Beth!! <3

Random Acts of Kindness Day

Tomorrow, February 17, 2012 is Random Acts of Kindness Day.
Part of Random Acts of Kindness Week that started Feb. 13 and goes through the 19th. 


Here is a list of kindness ideas for tomorrow from the Random Acts of Kindness website:

• smile at a stranger
• hold the door open for someone
• send a care package
• send a thank you note
• give a care package to a homeless person
• introduce yourself to a new person
• be nice to someone you dislike
• give someone a compliment

The list goes on and on.  It's so easy to do something nice and it doesn't have to be big.  What are you going to do for RAK Day tomorrow?

“You cannot do a kindness too soon, for you never know how soon it will be too late.”
― Ralph Waldo Emerson

Why Don't You Make Me?: The Sew Free 10-Minute Sweater Makeover

I know this tutorial would have been more helpful yesterday morning but I didn't even have the idea until yesterday morning and then there were cupcakes to bake, cards to catalog and fascinators to fasten.  Let's just call this post a jump start for next year.  I'm so ahead of the game.  

To make this sweater I took an existing boxy red cardigan that I never wear (due to boxiness), added $.69 worth of eyelet lace and in 10 minutes came out with something that I absolutely love!  

(Plus, and this is just between me and you, I hot glued that shit on there.)  

 For this project you will need:

• a sweater that could use some snazzing up
• 1 yard of eyelet lace
• glue gun/glue stick
• scissors
• cutting mat or piece of cardboard
• 1-2 seemingly oblivious cats

Begin by cutting your yard of lace into 8 equal parts.  The lace I'm using is an antique white eyelet lace I got for $.69, can't beat that.  You can use whatever your little heart desires and/or whatever's on sale.  

Be sure to get a second opinion on whether or not the parts are equal.  It's best if your helper ignores you the entire time she's sitting on the project you're working on.  

Now, slide an appropriately sized cutting board, piece of cardboard, some paper, etc inside of the sweater to keep from gluing the front to the back. 

Lay out your lace to see how you'd like it to look.  I like the standard tuxedo on the left side but ultimately decided to go with the more heart shaped configuration on the right.  

Add a small amount of glue to only the band of the lace a little bit at a time and begin to glue the lace to your sweater.  

**Make sure this is a sweater that you're ok with altering forever.  Once dried this will not be removable.**  

Glue down the top of the lace and then work your way down, adding glue as you go and secure the lace every inch or so into your desired shape.

Your ends will look like this when you're done, not very pretty. 

Just trim off the excess lace with some scissors to make it look right.  

And you're done.  

In 10 minutes you've turned a plain old sweater that lives in the back of the closet into brand new custom tuxedo front cardigan that now get's it's very own hanger.  This would also be a great idea for a tank top, a t-shirt or even a throw pillow.  The possibilities are endless. 

364 days left until next Valentine's day.
I'm so on top of things.  

Quick Fix: Forgetting to Buy Flowers on Valentine's Day

Whether you forgot to buy flowers this morning and are looking for a quick cover-up or you just wanted to make breakfast in bed for Sweetie, here are two quick ideas that turn regular Valentine's breakfast-in-bed into something a little more special. 

Instead of just plopping some boring square butter onto the pancakes you've lovingly made for your beau this morning, why not cut them into mini hearts and then plop them on your pancakes?

1.

2. 

3. 

Then, using a piece of paper, a skewer (or a chopstick), a marker and some tape, make an adorable note to stick into those delicious pancakes you made.

1. 

2. 

3. 

Viola!

Serve your pancakes on tray with some tea, juice and little paper hearts and now Sweetie thinks you are just the most thoughtful person, going through all that trouble just for them!  You shouldn't have. 

Happy Valentine's Day!!  

<3 mandee rae & purdy

Easy Stool Makeover: Before and After

Stool: $4 at a garage sale
Can of spray paint: $3.95
Time: 10 minutes to sand/spray, 1 hour to dry
Result: adorable new red plant stand

To keep the natural character of this stool I chose to only lightly sand the varnish off before painting it.  This way, all of the wear-and-tear and naturally acquired flaws still show through after painting and you're left with an adorable stool that looks like it's  always been red.    

Total cost: under $8.  Not bad.  

**TIP** If you want to make this project extra easy, set the stool and the spray paint outside and tell Liz you'll do it in a minute.  She can't resist!

National Sweater Day is so yesterday.

Man-o-man do Canadians have their shit together.  They have a day dedicated to wearing sweaters to try to encourage people to turn their heat down a little.  Brilliant!!  And their video to promote it is hilarious to boot.

National Sweater Day is February 9th...also known as yesterday.  So, I missed it by a day but still thought I'd share because it's a wonderful idea for a wonderful cause and it's reminded me that maybe I should turn down the thermastat a little too.  Thanks Canada!

Well isn't that pinteresting?

I have a Pinterest account now.  You can find me at:

www.pinterest.com/mandeemade

If you're pinterested.

(see what I did there?)

How to make a block printed Valentine post card

Second printing of the 'I think you're GREAT!' Valentine post card in red.

1. 

2.

3.

Click HERE for more detailed instructions.

Make Me: DIY Pull Tab Valentine Card

Why Don't You Make Me?

D.I.Y. Interactive Pull-Tab

 Valentine's Day Card/Decoration

1. Receive card

2. Pull Tab

3. Happy kid

Making this adorable, pull-tab Valentine's Card for my niece was so worth the little bit of extra effort it entailed.  She was so excited to PULL HERE and see all the letters come out!  Start-to-finish this card probably took me a little less than an hour. 

Here's how to make your own:

First, gather your supplies:

1 piece red card stock

1 piece coral card stock

1 piece pink construction paper

hole punch/grommet smashin' machine

grommets

scissors

tape

Sharpie

embroidery floss

embroidery needle

To begin: seperate pink paper into 20 equal pieces and cut out.

Then write "HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!" giving each letter their own square.

Now cut red paper into rectangles about the size of a stick of gum.

Using your hole punch, make a hole on either side of each letter and on either side of the red strips of paper.

Use the red strips to connect the letters. 

Lay a pink square on top of a red strip, align the holes, insert a grommet & squish using a grommet squisher.

Repeat until you've used all your letters and add a PULL tab on the left hand side in front of the 'H'.

Next, make the envelope using a pink piece of paper about 12"x14".

Fold in half lengthwise and begin to attach banner to card. 

To strengthen the anchor-point I cut a piece of card stock and added a grommet. 

Using a piece of string about 2" longer than the card, tie one end to the end of the banner.

Slip the other end of the string through the reinforced grommet, pull through and tape the string down on the backside of the card.  I added a heart to make it pretty afterwards.

Now comes the most difficult part of this card, fold the letters on top of each other without getting them tangled so that they come easily out of the card via the PULL tab.  Begin with the "y" and zig-zag the rest of the letters keeping the next letter on top until they all fit in the envelope.  To get this right I had to fold and pull about 4 times.  Trial and mulitple errors. 

Then, using your red embroidery floss and embroidery needle, sew the envelope shut being careful not to sew any of the letters to the envelope!  

The thread adds a cute decorative element and is actually much easier than gluing the envelope shut and risking getting any of the letters stuck in it.  Remember to leave a space on the left hand side for the letters to come out.

happy crafting!

The Punxsutawney Predicter: 6 More Weeks of Winter

According to the groundhog we're going to have 6 more weeks of Winter this year. 

That means I might just get to go sledding after all!! 

**FINGERS CROSSED!**

Shape Up With Pickles WEEK!!!

Jumpin' Jesus on a pogo stick!  It's 'Shape Up With Pickles Week!'  An entire week devoted to pickles!!!...aaaaaaand shaping up with them, whatever that means.

Here're some pickley treasures from the Etsy-Dot-Com Super Store:

And a print of Miss Pickles by this dude JimBob.....awwwww, hewwo Miss Pickles.
 
I'll be back when I have something relevant and pickle related to talk about.  Please do the same.

January 31st: National Popcorn Day

It's National Popcorn Day today!  Deeeeelicious!

Our Super 8 Wedding

My husband and I just passed the 8-month mark on gettin' hitched.  Ya us!  Now the only thing we talk about is saving for a house and buying a house and what kind of house to buy and what houses go for in this neighborhood and maybe we should build a house...notice a theme?

So it was a much needed breath of fresh air to receive this video of our wedding as a gift from our friend Chad last week.  Chad lives in NYC and currently works as an assistant editor for the TV show "Parking Wars".  (He also works on Dog: Bounty Hunter- a fact a find hilariously awesome.)  He's a husband, a cat lover, an avid D.I.Y.er & an incredibly genuine human being who made this f*#@ing amazing video for us in his "spare" time.  (Oh, and he skates, you can see him shred (and fall down a little) in some of his other videos.)

It was so special to receive this little 2 minute reminder of why we got married in the first place.  It immediately took us back to our wedding day.  So now, when I want to strangle my sweet sweet husband for making me talk about mortgages, I'll just take a break, watch this video and hold off for tomorrow.

Thanks Chad! <3 <3

*Here's the direct link to the video in case that doesn't play: http://vimeo.com/35004644*

Gritsy needs a forever home

By now anyone who knows me probably knows that I have a cat living on my porch; but, what you don't know is how sweet the cat that lives on my porch is- she's way more cuddly than the little jerks that live inside the house!  I really want to bring her in and spoil her rotten so for the last 3 1/2 months I've tried every day to acclimate my current cats to Gritsy's smell and every single day when I come in smelling like her, my boy cat hisses and attacks my Mama Cat.  I've invested in Feliway, tried holistic cat aromatherapy, let them smell each other between the doors....nothing has worked to make my boy cat not want to rip apart and eat the cat on my porch.  And, because I have a cat living on my porch, I can't even let my cats outside to play in this unseasonably warm weather.

Basically what I'm saying is, though I really don't want to, I need to find Gritsy a home, not on my porch, where she can be safe and happy and loved.  

Please adopt me:

Grits

Spayed Female, 3 years old

Grey/Brown Tabby Cat

If you live in/around Boston/Somerville and you're interested 

in adopting Grits, email me and I'll give you more information. 

Thanks for looking!  Please pass this on!! ~mandee rae

Heart Shaped Love: A Valentine Marshmallow Tutorial

What better way to tell your little ones you love them this Valentine's Day than with these homemade heart-shaped marshmallows?  Making marshmallows from scratch was way less difficult than I thought it was going to be.  They can easily be prepared in under 30 minutes.  

Step 1 To make marshmallows go over to Elizabeth LaBau's wonderful about.com marshmallow photo tutorial and follow the steps on Pages 1-6.  Then, for Step 7 come back and see me.  (Trust me, this is going to be much easier than trying to follow my directions.)

Step 7 Pour half of your marshmallow mixture onto half of your prepared baking sheet (we didn't use tinfoil cause we're rule breakers) and spread using a rubber spatula.

Step 8 Put a few drops of pink food coloring into the remaining half of the mixture and stir until it is a uniform pink.

Step 9 Pour the remaining mixture onto the other half of the sheet and spread out using a spatula.

OPTIONAL
Step 10 Coat marshmallow mixture with sprinkles!

Step 11 The recipe calls for the marshmallows to "sit out for several hours or overnight to fully set up."  However, because we are horribly impatient and wanted to eat marshmallows NOW we just set ours outside in the snow for about a half an hour and they were fine. 

Step 12 Using heart shaped cookie cutters (metal ones with sharp edges work best) begin cutting out your heart shapes. 

                                                                   hand modeling by Liz.

                                                                 hand modeling by Liv.

Repeat until there are no more hearts to be cut out and you're left with a delicous pile of marshmallow remnants. 

Step 13 Make some hot chocolate, plop in a couple of marshmallows and make somebody's day!

Happy Year of the Fat Dragon Baby

My friend Kristen (of such internet notoriety as Kristen the Christmas Diorama & Kristen and the Wedding Tchotchkis) made a dragon costume (and flame on a stick! what!) for her friends very "healthy" (read: chunky muffin) baby and then convinced her co-workers to pose for this picture just so that she could wish all of us a very

Happy & Healthy Chinese New Year!

(And also because dressing babies up as animals is awesome.)  Thanks Kristen!

Happy National Squirrel Appreciation Day!!

Put a Squirrel on It.