thankful thursday - to start the day.

this morning blakey turned on the hit jams radio station while we were getting ready for work.  heck yes.  jammin' out to nelly at 5 o'clock in the morning.  heck yes.

that is a fantastic way to start out your day.

it's amazing how little things really can make or break your whole attitude for the day.

i hope you can think of something for which you are thankful today.

love love,
kjp.

mother nature is a little confused.

mother nature is a little confused.

it is january.  the high today is 65.  & there is expected to be "abundant sunshine."

in january.

& there was a substantial tornado that came through alabama early yesterday morning.  we are just fine {thank you to those that thought about us!} but others were much less fortunate.  

a tornado.  in january.

oh, mother nature, you are confused.  but after a lovely run in the park with the tanky yesterday, we did come home & enjoy some hot chocolate with mini marshmallows!  {in my awesome new le creuset mugs!}

it is still january, after all.

love love,

kjp.

amazing shredded beef {& green beans too}

this is officially blakey's favorite meal of all time. 

ok, that might be an exaggeration, but it is pretty darn close. 

while we were home for the holidays, my stepmom made some a.freakin.mazing shredded beef sandwiches.  blakey has been talking & talking & talking about it since we ate it...twice.  so clearly that means i needed to make it.

the recipe she uses is a combination of two different pioneer woman beef recipes.  & that, in my book, makes it now her recipe!  so thank you thank you, ruth, for this fantastic recipe!

amazing shredded beef sandwiches

2.5 lb to 5 lb chuck roast

4 T butter

1 onion, sliced thick

3 cloves garlic

8 oz jar whole pepperocinis + juice

1/2 c soy sauce

1 c sherry

1/2 tsp salt

2 T italian seasoning

serve with: buttered & toasted deli rolls & a delicious melty cheese

1. heat butter in dutch oven over medium high heat.  saute onions for a few minutes, until starting to brown.

2. set roast on top.  add remaining ingredients.  cover.

3. bake at 275 for at least 6 hours, until beef is completely fork-tender & falling apart.  if it is not, keep cooking until it is!

4. shred completely.  serve, continue heating, or chill.

so so so good.  so good.

& here is my embarrassing side note:  ruth made this recipe for new years two years ago.  i loved it then.  so i went searching for the recipe shortly after blakey & i got married.  i searched & searched & searched & couldn't find it.  so i made my now favorite & completely overused pw dr pepper pulled pork.  

yep, that's right.  i apparently did not know the difference between pork & beef.

great find though.  so i'm ok with it.

oh!  about the green beans.  blakey loves green beans.  i, on the other hand, would rather eat just about any other vegetable.  but i decided to make a "blakey's favorite dinner", so i went with a green bean recipe in my awesome food network magazine.  

believe it or not, these are pretty darn good!  they sound super strange - green beans, tarragon, & whole-grain mustard.  {so strange.} but you should seriously try them!  {recipe is HERE.}

fabulous meal.  

love love,

kjp.

happy friday, even to the sec!

{my current seasonal cupcake: caramel cupcake!}

{by the way, i learned we say "caramel" wrong in oklahoma.

in the south it's care-a-mel, not car-mull.

must pronounce it right.  

butter & sugar is, after all, very southern.}

yesterday, we had a big lunch & cupcake order, which we later found out was for an SEC meeting going on in birmy.  one of my super SEC fan cohorts knew that all of the coaches were in town for a meeting. 

so we're pretty sure we made lunch & cupcakes for saban & the like yesterday.

even though i very much dislike the SEC, that is pretty darn cool.

certainly my cupcakes are now his favorite cupcakes ever.

happy friday, friends!!

love love,
kjp.

thankful thursday - pinterest.

yes, i'm saying it.  i am thankful for pinterest.

certainly i waste a lot of time on the website, but it has truly been a great source of information {& entertainment}.

two things have specifically been so helpful:

#1.  the abundance of recipes.  the owner at urban always wants me to be more creative.  however, creative i am not.  but i can search the internet for awesome recipes.  first it was allrecipes, but i really wore out my ability there.  then foodgawk.  now pinterest.

& there has been no shortage of awesomely creative & delicious recipes!

two fantastic ones that you should probably try:

{orange dreamsicle cookies HERE}

{peanutbutter bars HERE}

#2.  an impressive amount of at home workouts.  some days i just don't want to go to the gym or take tanky for a run.  i just don't want to.  but i still would like to do something good for myself.  i've found great circuit cardio workout, arm workouts, ab workouts...  you name it, it is out there.

don't want to workout?  try one.  you'll feel better knowing you did something.

{at home circuit workout HERE}

{14 day ab workout HERE}

that really is my life in a nutshell, right?  working out enough to eat the food i want :)

i hope you can think of something for which you are thankful today.  even if it is a little thing.

love love,

kjp.

a DIY coffee sack ottoman!

while we were home over christmas, my mother-in-law made us a super awesome ottoman using old coffee bean sacks & a used footstool!

she took photos along the way in case it "turned out cute enough for a blog post".  well, it is so darn cute, so here we go:

things you will need:
an ottoman of some sort
2 coffee sacks
thick cording
jute string
a yarn needle
pins, sewing machine, tan thread, marker & yardstick {she LOVES yardsticks :)}

she found these awesome coffee sacks at one of her favorite shops & the footstool at a used furniture store.

our footstool is actually a "sewing bench" with a top that opens to reveal a stash of old sewing supplies.  so cool!  since we always need more storage, i am positive i will find a good use for the new hidden extra space.

#1.  remove the side stitching of the coffee sack, so you have one long piece of burlap.  you can either rip or snip the side stitches with a seam-stripper or small scissors.  be VERY careful not to snip any of the burlap, as it will unravel.  the safest way is to loosen a stitch & then unravel the rest by hand.

{key: burlap ravels terribly.  the sewn sides are "selvages" or finished edges.  save them to use later to finish edges.}

you will end up with a long strip, about 6' long by 2' wide.  {ours had been sliced open along one side....machette-like...}

#2.  decide how you want the printing from the sacks to be on your ottoman.  we wanted the design on top but not perfectly centered.  we made the top & three sides from one sack and the fourth side from the second sack.

mark edges with pins.

#3.  measure & cut your pieces.  remember to allow for the seam & cording.  {we had a 5/8" seam allowance.  & a 2" cording circumfrence which means 1" allowance.}

double check all your measurements!  {measure twice...cut once.}  make sure your bottom edge is on the selvage edge.  so each side piece will have three cut edges & one selvage edge.

{tanky helped!}

#4.  using a sewing machine, sew the pieces together with a tight, straight stitch.  {goal: to keep the burlap from unraveling}.  burlap is double-sided, so make sure the pretty side is on the outside.  & make sure the selvage is the opposite end from the sewn side.

then sew the side seams to create a slip cover.  be careful with your seam allowances.  press open all of the seam allowances & press the hem.

{check out the progress!}

#5.  cording!  cut twelve pieces of cording - four for each side of the top & four for each corner edge & four for each side of the bottom.  cut each 1 1/2" shorter than the edge measures, as the corners will be pretty stiff on their own.

cording also unravels easily, so tape the ends & cut through the middle of the tape, leaving it taped.

{how the end will fray if you don't tape it!}

sew the cording in by hand with jute string & a yarn needle.

place the cording along each seam with the seam allowance flat & pin it in place.  start sewing about an inch from the corner - take a little stitch & pull the thread almost all the way through, then tie the ends together for the first knot.  pull tight.

stitch with a running stitch, making sure the stitches are even.  knot at each corner.

sew the cording in the hem with the same running stitch going right through the selvage.

 {please play, grandma!}

& the finished stool is fantastic!!  we absolutely love it.  perfectly urban & homey all at the same time.

total cost = $66:
footstool: $40
two coffee sacks: $20
7 yards cording: $6.

{confession: i know NOTHING about sewing.  so not only did my MIL make this awesome coffee sack ottoman, she also wrote the crafty blog post.}

thank you, lisa!!

love love,
kjp.