Now that I'm all grown up and own a crockpot...

So I've been anxious to go out and buy a crockpot and a spice rack now that I have my own place. Seems silly, I know but hey, I'm an eccentric, what else would you expect? So yesterday I decided to make my first dinner. Since I moved, I am within a 5 minute walk of work so I have been attempting to walk home for lunch. While there yesterday, I through everything in my crockpot for dinner so it would be ready when I got home from work. I decided to make Teriyaki Chicken and it was absolutely delicious! I was pleasantly surprised with myself. I found the recipe on Pinterest, surprise, surprise. I modified it a bit for my liking.

The original recipe can be found here.

I modified it to:

Chicken
3 large chicken breast cut into halves (roughly 3 lbs)

Teriyaki Sauce
3/4 Cups of Sugar
3/4 Cups of Low Sodium Soy Sauce
6 Tbsps of Apple Cider Vinger
1 tsp of minced garlic
3/4 tsp of ginger
1/4 tsp of black pepper

To thicken after cooked
4 1/2 tsp of Cornstarch
4 1/2 tsp of Cold Water

















1. Place chicken into crockpot
2. Mix all ingredients for sauce
3. Pour over chicken in crockpot
4. Cook on low for 4-5 hours
5. Remove Chicken
6. Skim fat off the top of the sauce
7. Boil sauce in sauce pan
8.  Mix Cornstarch and Cold Water
9. Once sauce is boiling, add Cornstarch/Water mix
10. Once thickened, take off burner and pour over chicken (and rice, if you choose).
11. Enjoy :)




























I made brown rice to go along and also roasted green beans with a bit of olive oil, vinaigrette (I used asian sesame), and crumbled feta.

Topped it off with a nice glass of white wine.

Snickerdoodle Cookies

Snickerdoodles are my favorite cookies. Last night I decided to give it a whirl and make some. Usually when I make them, I follow a different recipe. However, my grandma gave me her recipe and I thought I would try to make them her way.

Dough:
2 Eggs
1/2 Cup Butter
1/2 Cup Shortening - I used Crisco
1 1/2 Cup of Sugar
1 tsp of Vanilla
2 3/4 Cups of Flour
1/4 tsp of Salt
2 Tbsp of Cream of Tarter
1 tsp of Baking Soda

Topping:
1/4 Cup of Sugar
1 tbsp of Cinnamon
1 tsp of Nutmeg


1. Beat the eggs, butter, shortening, sugar together
2. Stir in the vanilla
3. Combine all of the rema ingredients
4. Mix in dry ingredients (Flour, Salt, Cream of Tarter, and Baking Soda)
5. Chill dough (It makes it easier to ball when it is chilled)
6. Preheat Oven to 350 degrees
7. Roll into balls
8. Roll dough balls through cinnamon sugar mixture
9. Place on ungreased cookie sheet
10. Bake for 11 minutes


Enjoy!

New Kitchen

I have decorated and updated my kitchen. Unfortunately, I only have one picture so far.

This post will be about Valentine's Day

...however as it is not over yet, this post is soon to come.

Bargin Shopping

Sorry did not post this yesterday! I have been on search for a rug. I was looking for something black and white with maybe some floraly patterns:

I saw this one on Amazon, but $299 was a little out of my price range.

This one was on sale but also pricy at $99

I checked Walmart and found this:

I liked it but it was still $76.




However, I am on a serious budget. Turns out is possible to find cheap rugs. I had to be patient and check the Clearance racks of a few different places.


These are the rugs I ended up buying. I got both for $19.99. I think that is quite the deal. I found them at Lowe's. They have been rolled up for a quite a while so I have heavy things on the corners to flatten them out.

All in all, I think I did pretty well for myself. Excited to begin decorating my new apartment.

New Apartment!!

I am super excited to be taking control of my new apartment today!!!!


If anyone has any decoration ideas for me, please let me know! It is literally a blank space that can be transformed into anything!

Chicken Lettuce Wraps

I like to cook. I may not be that adventurous and don't tend to deviate much from recipes. Here and there a bit, maybe. Would I like to be more risk-taking? Most definitely. I view it the same way I view my fashion choices, I would like to do it but it's a process to becoming more daring and pulling it off without feeling ridiculous. Something to work on, I guess. Anyway, the main reason I don't usually cook is because of the hassle. It just seems like so much effort to go through for just me. However, last night I decided to give it a whirl again and make Chicken Lettuce Wraps. While I've never been to P.F. Changs, I hear they have delicious ones and I started looking for a recipe. I have been wanting them for awhile now and decided to make them myself.

I cannot take credit for this recipe. I found it online. I did make some adjustments to it to better suit my personal tastes and size.

I took it a little easy on the jalapenos and garlic chili sauce. I like spicy things, but I'm sort of a wuss.

Here is the recipe-

Ingredients:

2 lb. ground chicken
1/2 C. chopped fresh basil or 2.5T dried basil
5 Tbsp. soy sauce
5 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
5 large garlic cloves, finely minced
2.5 large jalapeno chilis, chopped fine
2.5 tsp.  garlic chili sauce or hot pepper sauce such as Tabasco
2.5 Tbsp. sesame oil
5 Tbsp.  Vegetable Oil
Boston lettuce leaves
Chopped green onions (optional)
Roasted peanuts, chopped (optional)

1. Combine first seven ingredients in a bowl and stir to blend well.

2. Clean and Peel Lettuce Head

3. Heat both oils in a heavy medium sized skillet till hot but not smoking.

4. Add chicken mixture and sauté until chicken is just cooked through (about 5 minutes).

5. Transfer chicken mixture to a bowl and arrange lettuce leaves in another bowl.

6. Serve and Enjoy!

I also made a salad as a side dish. :)

Recipe via CopyKat

Trip Memory Frame

I recently made a trip overseas. I wanted to create a frames to commemorate my trip. I saw some similar to these on Pinterest and decided that I was going to make my own. While I was on vacation I grabbed little souvenirs to accent the frames. This project could be dones with anything. I am thinking it could be really cool for a new baby. The name could be cut out and in the frame could go the hospital band, any cards received, etc.

Supplies:
-Matte Board
-Shadow box frame - I used 12" x 12"
-Exacto Knife
-Souvenirs

1. First, start by creating a document on the computer with the name of what is to go in the frame. I did this in illustrator but I am sure you can use word as well. It would be good to use a condensed thick font. I choose Impact for mine.

2. Then cut out a 12 x 12 inch square from matte board (or whatever size of frame you have).

3. Tape the print out to the matte board. I recommend sticking the tape to yourself a few times before attaching it so that it doesn't rip the board.

4. Cut out along the lines with an exacto knife and punch out the letters.

5. Decide which pictures to show in which letters.

6. Cut the pictures to the correct size and tape them behind the matte board.

7. Put the souvenirs in the shadow box. They can be glued to stay in place. As I am getting ready to move, I just stuck them with tape because I will need to disassemble them.

My Dublin frame isn't completed yet. I have a few more things to add to my London and Paris frames as well.

Pantone 2012 Color Forecast

To add to yesterdays color posts:

Seth Godin : Out on a Limb

Seth Godin is one of my favorite thought leaders. If you have never heard of him, you should check out his books or at the very least, his blog. I am reposting this article today because I agree with him and I think it is an interesting point of view on creativity. To be creative and do it successfully, there are risks involved. If we do not take the risk, we will never reach our potential for creating or growing as an artist.

Out on a limb:

That's where artists do their work.

Not in the safe places, but out there, in a place where they might fail, where it might end badly, where connections might be lost, sensibilities might be offended, jokes might not be gotten.

If you work with artists, don't saw off the limb. Don't waste a lot of time explaining how dangerous it is, either. No, your job is to quietly support the limb at the same time you egg your team on, pushing them ever further out there.

Color Schemed Rooms Affect Mood

Arkitip carried out an experiment in color at Ace Hotel Palm Springs, partnering with Comex and their trend color books. Five rooms at the hotel were repainted using three combinations based on color schemes in the books and five media reporters were then invited to stay for a long weekend. They changed rooms every night to experience the different colors and see what effect it had on their mood. Arkitip writes:

One scarcely realizes how much color can affect one’s mood until you happen to find yourself in a room where the paint is actually something other than white. Maybe you visit a friend’s house who is a fantastic interior decorator, or travel to the Caribbean, India or Latin America where they embrace dramatic color. Even a slight change in color can positively impact your mood, making you more productive, relaxed, even happy.

Changing environments at the Ace Hotel with Comex paint, Curated by Arkitip from The Arkitip Chronicles on Vimeo.


via PSFK

Tangerine Tango

So sticking with my previous post of the day, today's post will be related to Color.

If you were not aware, Pantone has named Tangerine Tango as the color of the year for 2012.

According to Pantone:

Dance into the New Year with this Vivacious and Appealing Reddish Orange 

The 2011 color of the year, PANTONE 18-2120 Honeysuckle, encouraged us to face everyday troubles with verve and vigor. Tangerine Tango, a spirited reddish orange, continues to provide the energy boost we need to recharge and move forward.

“Sophisticated but at the same time dramatic and seductive, Tangerine Tango is an orange with a lot of depth to it,” said Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute®. “Reminiscent of the radiant shadings of a sunset, Tangerine Tango marries the vivaciousness and adrenaline rush of red with the friendliness and warmth of yellow, to form a high-visibility, magnetic hue that emanates heat and energy.”

Continue reading here...

I personally like this years color. I think it has a lot life and vitality to it. I do not believe I will be using to in any decorations of my new apartment, but I think I may make an attempt to introduce it into my wardrobe. I would also like to get some beads this color and used them as accent colors to some more muted colors. If anyone knows of a good place to buy these colors beads, please share!

What do you think of Tangerine Tango?

Psychology of Color

I came across this infographic today and found it pretty useful. It is a good guide when thinking about what colors to use for designs. It helps to have this stuff in the back of mind.

My slight addiction to Pinterest

Alright, maybe "slight" is a bit of an understatement. Either way, I love Pinterest. It is really amazing, especially for ideas on projects and inspiration. If you are not familiar,  according to Mashable.com "The service enables users to create online bulletin boards, or “pinboards,” for popular categories such as home decor, food and wedding inspiration. Members can use Pinterest’s “Pin It” bookmarklet tool and iPhone app to save things they see online and offline, and explore and repin the images their friends collect via their personal newsfeeds." Pretty awesome, right?

This is how I feel about Pinterest:

It is becoming the next big thing in social media and brands are starting to pay attention. This infographic about Pinterest is from the same Mashable article.

As of right now I have 33 boards and 2240 pins and my URL is http://pinterest.com/jennagaylewade/. This number is consistently increasing. There are a bunch of projects I want to try out that I have come across and will hopefully be featured on this blog in the near future.

I am really hoping as I keep up with this blog, my creativity will keep up as well.

In there near future - like when I finally get around to moving (clearly I should get on this whole packing thing), I want to start on these projects for my first grown up apartment.

Have a happy Friday! :)
-Jenna

Necklaces Made from Yesterdays Beads

I was a busy bee last night and went kind of crazy designing several new necklaces. Like I mentioned earlier, I have been on this whole chain kick lately. I made several different necklaces. I am wearing one of them today. I actually coordinated my clothes around it.

The owl, elephant and lock and key definitely need a few more elements and I haven't decided quite yet what will really enhance their aesthetic. So if you have any suggestions, please let me know!

I have added the pictures below. All of the pictures I am uploading are taken from my cell phone so they aren't the best quality. I don't currently have a home computer so I have been updating this blog partially from my phone. 

Thanks for checking them out :). I hope to have them listed to my Etsy site as soon as I can.