let's talk about random

Some of you may be familiar with StumbleUpon, but in case you aren't, StumbleUpon is an online community that suggests websites for you based on your interests.


The reason I'm mentioning this is because I'm completely obsessed with it right now. Seriously, at times, when I should be sitting here writing lesson plans, or reading for class, I'm stumbling. And I have found some of THE coolest websites/pictures because of it. The best part is, you don't have to waste space trying to bookmark every single neat thing that you see, just press the 'I like it' button, and it saves to your favorites on your stumbleupon account.

I just wanted to share with you all a few things I've come across while stumbling:


http://lol.com.pk/2009/03/art-dont-miss-it/

http://www.jansch.freeserve.co.uk/life-size.htm

http://yoke.cc/handart2.htm


http://www.dirtycarart.com/gallery/index.htm

Check it out! It is a good way to 'waste time'...especially if you're bored.

it was all too real to me

Finally, a weekend that I can relax AND get things done around the house!
That's right, it's SPRING CLEANING time, and I'm almost done.
I've been so busy with school lately, that I've completely neglected my poor apartment. I hate cleaning as much as the next girl, but sometimes 'ya gotta do, what ya gotta do'.

I even felt good enough and had the time to bake two cakes. I was proud of myself, because I made them both FROM SCRATCH!! I had never done that before, I have always used mixes, but I love a challenge. I made one for my good friend, Tiffany, and one for my boo, Aaron. Both of them have given me great reviews, so I decided to post the recipes that I used for you all to see.

Vanilla Cake:

2 sticks butter, softened
1 3/4 c. sugar
3 c. flour
2 tsp. baking powder
4 eggs (separate)
1 tsp. vanilla
1 1/2 c. milk

Beat yolks, sugar and butter. Add flour, milk, baking powder and vanilla. Beat egg whites slightly. Add shake of salt. Turn into other bowl. Mix. Pour in square aluminum pan. Flour and grease. Bake at 350 degrees until done, 40-50 minutes.

[If you do two or more layers, which is what I did, it only takes 25-30 mins to bake]


Chocolate Icing:

1/4 cup butter, melted
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/3 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 cups confectioners’ sugar

In a large bowl, combine butter and cocoa; beat until well mixed. Add in the milk, vanilla and salt; beat until smooth. Gradually beat in the confectioners’ sugar until frosting is smooth and creamy. Add more milk if you want a thinner consistency.

I topped them with sliced Almonds. Adds a nice texture.

My best friend, Matt, has started a blog. If you get a chance, check it out and welcome him to the world of blogging.

let it be a lesson learned.

This post is probably going to be all over the place, so I apologize in advance.

Sometimes, I just really want to tell people to get over themselves. No one I've met on here, just people in real life.

Our teacher finally gave us back our abstract expressionist pieces yesterday. Here is one of mine:


In other art news, I had a 'plaster disaster' yesterday. In my sculpture class, we are supposed to be making large scale sculptures out of plaster. So, our teacher had us make our own boxes [out of wood] to cast our blocks in. Everyone else pretty much made your standard square. But no, he had me make a weird shaped box. Some where along the line, something went wrong, because when we went to pour the plaster in, it was like a broken dam, and it ended up all over the floor.


Four of us hurried to scoop up as much of it as we could before it hardened to the floor. Like I said....DISASTER. My teacher just laughed. Apparently it was amusing to him. And, had it not been MY PROJECT that almost got ruined, I'm sure I would have been laughing as well.

Alabama has been very stormy the past few days. In fact, I skipped two classes because of the terrible weather, and I'm sure I'll regret it next week. Oh well. I had to go to one of the local high schools today to do observation hours. My friend Tiffany and I sat through a two hour Art I course. It reminded me a lot of the time that I sat in my sister's classroom for an hour, and it seriously makes me reconsider what I want to do 'when I grow up'.

And the winner is....

Congratulations, Christy! You're the winner!
I will be contacting you shortly to get your information. Hope you all have a great weekend!

Ultra Dork

I have played the Wii a few times, but I never really cared for it all that much. Until now, maybe?



This may possibly be one of the most exciting things I've seen in a while. A virtual spray can! Here's a little more info:

Called the WiiSpray, this can allows any would-be graffiti artist to practice their skills in a safe environment without having to fear cops or angry property owners. The can works with the same motion-sensing capabilities that the Wiimote makes use of. The WiiSpray even comes with several different caps to simulate real-world spray cap properties and feel.

Seems very interesting, to say the least.

Moving on. Aaron bought me the new Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars for my DS. It's addicting. Don't get me wrong, I didn't ask for it. He just got it for me. Well, got it for himself, but since it's my DS he pretended that it was a gift. I really want Professor Layton and the Curious Village, though. I'm more of a puzzle/mystery kind of girl. Any of you have a DS? If so, do you have any games to recommend? We already have guitar hero, brain age, the new super mario bros, mystery case files, csi, and chrono trigger.

got you on my radar

Only 17 days left until my ceramics pieces leave the museum.

I really hope that I can sell at least one of them, so I can buy this:

Nikon CoolPix P80 Black 10.1 MP Digital Camera w/ 18x Optical Zoom, Image Stabilization & Face Detection

Anyone have one like this or one similar? Pros, cons? I'd love to hear them.

p.s. Don't forget, Winner for the give-away will be announced in two days, so you still have time to enter!!

you can't wait on life

I came home Sunday from a weekend with family, and my boyfriend had bought me a bouquet of flowers AND the Twilight dvd. How sweet is that?

He's leaving for basic training in 22 days, and every day I'm a little bit more sad. He'll be back just in time for us to move into our new apartment. *sigh*

While Aaron is gone, Isabella is going to come say with me. You know, to keep me company, & keep the bad guys away.

I finally decided to make the caramel monkey bread that I bought Aaron the other day, and according to him, "It's okay, at best." I don't really recommend it. Homemade is sooooo much better.

I also tried the simple pizza recipe from Smitten Kitchen, and I was really impressed. Aaron LOVED it, and we even decided that next time we are gonna try our own spin on it, with a sort of Mellow Mushroom twist. I'll keep you guys updated!

In other news, I've started a new painting. This is just the beginning.



It's going to be a mixed media piece, as well, using acrylic paint and paper colle. I'm excited!! I just hope I have time to finish it soon.

Have a great week!

GIVE-AWAY!!

I recently decided that I wanted to have a give-away on my blog. Since art is my big thing, I decided to give one of you an original oil painting by me.

Here's a picture of the painting:



To enter, just leave a comment with your email address [so I can contact you if you win], and tell me something kind of art thing (such as, who is your fav. artist, what your fav. genre of art is, if you've visited any art museums)

For an extra chance to win, simply 'follow' my blog!

Winner will be announced Friday, March 27th.

stuffed chicken tenders

I love to cook, but I get bored with the same ol' stuff. So, I like to branch out and try new things, even if I'm not exactly sure if I'll like it or not. But...how can you go wrong with chicken, right? :)

A few weeks ago, I experimented with a variation of fried wantons that were stuffed with spinach, ricotta cheese, and sweet sausage. I had a ton of the filling left over, so I froze the rest.

The other night, I just had a hankering for something different. I was tired of regular fried or baked chicken tenders, but I still wanted chicken, so, I got a littttttle bit creative.

I thawed out the spinach mix and preceded to make these:


Really all it is, are chicken fingers wrapped around balls of stuffing! It's so simple but soooo good! Here's the recipe, for anyone who is interested:

1 8oz pkg frozen spinach
1 cup ricotta cheese [room temp.]
1/3lb sausage [use whatever kind you like!]
1 lb chicken tenders
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp red pepper flakes [optional, for a kick]
2 tbsp Parmesan cheese
2 tbsp butter
1 tbsp olive oil
salt & pepper to taste

you can use any kind of pan for this. i chose a 9" round pan. pour the olive oil in the bottom of the pan, and make sure the bottom is coated well. preheat oven to 375.

prepare chicken tenders by seasoning with garlic powder, and salt/pepper to taste. lay one chicken tender out on a cutting board, seasoned side down. place a tsp of filling in the middle of the tender. pull the sides of the tender together, and use a tooth pick to hold it together. place in pan. repeat to all tenders. top each with a portion of your butter, and sprinkle parmesan cheese on top.

bake for 10-15 mins. you may need to check after about 10 mins to see if they need to stay in there longer. it really just depends on the thickness of your tenders.

for filling:
cook the frozen spinach according to directions. brown the sausage, drain the fat. let both of these cool for 10-15 minutes before mixing. combine sausage, spinach, ricotta, red pepper flakes into a medium mixing bowl. add salt and pepper to taste.

QUICK!

Hurry on over to Threadless and get some sweet new
shirts while they are on sale for only $5!!
Sale ends Monday, so go check them out!

Masqued Misery

Just wanted to take a few minutes to show you guys my latest printmaking project.



"Masqued Misery"

It is a mixed media piece, using linoleum cut, color pencil, and graphite.
Here's a close up of the face area:



Constructive Criticism is welcomed!!

my new love

...or at least my new obsession.

Remember a few days ago when I was talking about my spring break trip? and I mentioned that my favorite picture was on my friend's camera? Well, she finally sent it to me.



Us, with Lance from the Leo Project. I swear he is the single most talented and attractive guy I've ever met. And if I weren't completely committed to Aaron....well, nevermind. Not to mention that he is only 19 & supposedly married.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

growing up...

In exactly 2 hours I will teach my first art lesson to about 20 college students. & I just dropped ramen down my shirt.

I am freaking out.

the old man is snooring

It's a rainy day in Southern Alabama. NOT the way I like it.

Anyways, anyone who knows me knows that I love to cook, and I love to spoil my boyfriend.
So, while I was at Target this weekend, I got him a few special things. Well, they may not seem special to anyone else, but trust me, the way to his heart IS through his stomach.

Aaron LOVES pancakes. Usually, we just buy the pre-made mix at Walmart, and then add bananas, or chocolate chips, but I could NOT pass this up:


APPLE STREUSEL PANCAKE MIX!

We tried them this morning, and they are absolutely delicious. We used whipped cream as a topping instead of syrup though.



Here they are! Sorry for the poor quality of pictures. When I went to grab my camera, the batteries were dead, so I had to use my phone. I'm telling you, if you don't try these, you are really missing out. It cost me about $3.50 for a box [half of the box was plenty enough for two or three people], but they do not disappoint.

I also got him caramel monkey bread mix. I haven't made it for him yet though. He likes my homemade monkey bread, so we'll see if this measures up! I'll let you know! Happy Sunday :)

we've got everybody singin....

I'm back in Troy, after a much needed mini-vacation, and a dreaded cold. The beach was quite nice, and I wish I could have stayed longer. Georgia was good, too, minus the sickness.



We had an amazing time at a concert where we saw 10 years, the Leo Project, and Adelita's Way. they were even nice enough to take pictures with us. Although, my FAVORITE picture is on my friend's camera. haha, I'll post it later.




I even saw Brody Jenner. I mean, I didn't go up and talk to him or anything, but hey, I was star struck ;)



Now, it's back to reality. Back to all the art projects and writing lesson plans, for the next month or so. Hope your spring break is as exciting as mine was!!

Rachel Getting Married

For those of you who were thinking about renting 'Rachel Getting Married'....don't. It was seriously a disappointment. It was okay, at best, but there was no defined plot, and when it ended, I was just confused. I mean, if you want to waste time/money on it, feel free, and then let me know what you think :)

feelin' crabby?

my sister and i absolutely love crab rangoon [cream cheese wantons]. since there are no good chinese restaurants here in troy, i decided to learn how to make them myself. i read a few different recipes, but none of them were exactly what i wanted, so i tweaked a few to make them my own.

here is my guide to simple crab rangoon!

1 can white crab meat
1 8 oz pkg cream cheese
1 pkg wanton wrappers
a pinch of salt
a pinch of garlic powder
a pinch of onion powder
a pinch of paprika
1 egg

leave your cream cheese out until it reaches room temperature. if it isn't soft, it will be a lot harder to mix. put all of the cream cheese into a medium sized bowl. add the crab and all of the spices. mix thoroughly.

in a small bowl, beat the egg. you will use this around the edges of each wanton to help seal it.

layout a few wrappers, place a teaspoon full of the mixture in the center. paint the edges with the egg, and fold over to seal. repeat until all of your mixture is gone.

use a medium skillet, and turn the heat to medium/high. the amount of oil you use will directly depend on the size of the pan you use. make sure to use enough oil that it will cover atleast half of the wanton, but not cover the whole thing. make sure the oil is screaming hot before you begin to cook, or the wraps will soak up the oil. you do not want to saturate the wantons. i usually only fry three to five at a time. when they're done, place them on a paper towel to soak up the oil.


NOTE: don't cook until you're ready to eat. these will not taste very good after they have sat out for a while, they will be mushy instead of crispy. you can make these ahead of time, but put them in the refrigerator BEFORE you cook them. take them out when you're ready to eat and fry up.

enjoy :)

Unbelievable.

It snowed yesterday in Southern Alabama. I know, some people are wondering why everyone is making such a fuss about it. But really, I only remember it snowing here once before when I was a little kid, and I remember Nanny not letting us go play in it because she was afraid we'd get pneumonia. The snow yesterday, though, wasn't even sticking to the ground. Just roof tops and cars.



This was the best I could do as far as pictures were concerned. I don't love cold weather, so I wasn't going to venture out in it. Time for class. Hope the weather gets warmer, soon, since Spring Break is next week!