Our New Apartment

Modge-Podge Suitcase - Pt. 2

It's complete! Last night Sam and I finished decorating my class old school suitcase while watching "Hugo" (OK movie...don't want to watch it again though). It looks a little white in the pictures because it hasn't fully dried but the case has an entire bottle of Modge Podge on it! I'm really excited to travel in style!

Fruit - and some celery too

Luke and I have decided to eat as much fruit as possible! That's it! Entire meals of fruit! It's been very delicious and completely curbs my desire for Peanut Butter M&M's because if I've been eating sweet things...I don't want other sweet things! Btw...that much pineapple destroys your mouth! Luke learned the hard way!

I found blood oranges at the grocery store the other day (see below) and we tried them (see above). They tasted a lot like grapefruit (which Luke doesn't really like, hence the face). I thought they were good but just made me want to eat grapefruit.

Another delicious fruit meal, this time with a side of celery. So mostly fruits, and some veggies too!

Modge-Podge Suitcase - Pt. 1

Sam Lund and I have been perusing magazines and collecting pages that contain some great pattern to use for decoupaging a suitcase. We finally had the time to organize the pages and start cutting the design.

Modge Podge!

About 3/4 of the surface has been covered! Hopefully we can finish it this Saturday!

Chemistry Cookies

When Ben and Deb were here back in December before Luke's Graduation we made sugar cookies with my chemistry cookie cutters! And then decorated them with appropriate measurements and electron paths!

They were delicious!

Hot Chocolate Sticks - The Injesting

Here they are, hot chocolate sticks fresh out of the fridge!

They all came out of the pan quite easily once I realized that I wouldn't pull out the stick by being rough with them. The marshmallows all stayed stuck on too!

Here are my supplies for the beverage: hot chocolate stick, mug, purchased almond milk, and homemade almond milk. I used the homemade almond milk so that there would be more chocolate flavors and not the processed flavors though I'm sure either would be delicious!

It's melting.......

Done! Delicious! Both Luke and I loved it! Very chocolaty flavored and it got all frothy on its own with just the stirring! Next time I'm going to try it with higher quality chocolate and maybe mix in some cinnamon and cardamom with the batter!

Hot Chocolate Sticks - The Making

Luke's internet addiction comes up with some amazing things! He found a link to this crafty item on thedailywh.at and quickly sent it my way. I LOVE hot chocolate! I think we have 5 different types in the cupboard and I can debate the merits of Swiss Miss vs. Nestle and have wowed friends by introducing them to Abuelita (a Mexican hot chocolate - check out your local Mexican aisle! Amazing! Worth the effort!). So within 3 days of hearing about this....it was made!Everything you need!

Chocolate!

Halving the skewers

Mixing chocolate with sugar and powder is an awkward process!

And you end up with a strangely textured lump of chocolate that you break apart and push into silicon ice cube trays and garnish with sticks and marshmallows.

Before.....and after!

We'll post an "after" picture when they've cooled enough to take apart and test! Try it yourself! It wasn't hard at all and I'm pretty sure it's going to be amazing!

Hot Chocolate Sticks
Makes 15-16 sticks

Update: It seems that some people have had trouble with the consistency of the mixture becoming too thick. I made another batch and weighed the dry ingredients and have included the measurements below. This should help to remove any issues caused by inconsistencies in measuring cup sizes or method of packing those cups.

Supplies
sticks (at least 5 inches long) - I used kabobs and cut them in half because they were way way cheaper!
piping bag or sandwich bag with 1/2″ corner cut off - I didn't need this - the chocolate was easy to handle if you are ok getting messy!
ice cube tray or deep candy mold, each cavity approximately 1 ounce

Ingredients
16 oz. dairy free semi-sweet chocolate (not chips)
1/2 c (1.5 oz) loosely packed cocoa
1 c (4.5 oz) loosely packed powdered sugar
1/8 tsp salt
mini vegan marshmallows

In a medium bowl, sift together cocoa, powdered sugar, and salt. Set aside

Chop chocolate into small pieces (no larger than about 3/4″ inch long) and combine in a glass bowl that is completely dry. Microwave in 30 second bursts on 50% power, stirring between each burst, ensuring that your spatula is also completely dry. Once chocolate is about 2/3 melted (there are still some chunks in the melted chocolate), stir until remaining chunks melt. This prevents the chocolate from getting too hot.

Pour melted chocolate into the mixing bowl containing the dry ingredients and stir until combined. Mixture will be very thick, similar to brownie batter. Spoon mixture into a piping bag (no coupler or tip is needed) or into a sandwich bag with the corner sliced off. Pipe the chocolate into an ice cube tray.

Once all chocolate has been piped, pound the tray lightly on the counter to eliminate air bubbles and to flatten the tops of the cubes if they are uneven. Working one cube at a time, insert a stick and place four mini marshmallows onto the top of the cube. Once all cubes are complete, set aside until cubes are completely dry. You can also place them in the fridge if you are in a hurry.

Once all cubes are dry, remove carefully from the molds. Wrap pretty and store in the cupboard.

To Use:
Heat up 1 cup almond or soy milk (approximately 1 ounce of chocolate should be used for each cup of almond milk, so adjust based on the weight of your cube) and stir in. Cube will take several minutes to dissolve completely.

The Builder

Just a few days ago my grandfather Pete died.

I'm ok, but I'd like to just write something short about him.

It's short because my relationship with him was... not necessarily short, not necessarily simple, not limited-but it was something like that. How I view my relationship with my grandpa can be summed up in this story.

Grandpa seemed like a cold person growing up. I don't have any memories of him laughing, or smiling, or saying much of anything at all. He had a stone cold look, almost like he was looking right through the living room wall at something a mile away. I don't know why for sure, but he seems quiet in my memories-sitting at the end of the dining room table with his back to the mirror (if you've been to his home then you know the one I'm talking about), he has his elbows, a newspaper, and a glass of scotch with slivers of melting ice in it sitting on the table. This is my memory of him growing up. He was always there, hardly involved-but always watching.

Thinking back on him, he seems unapproachable - but when I was young I didn't think that at all. I knew that he was a construction worker. Enter my big imagination as well as a complete lack of understanding of social queues and I KNEW that he could build ANYTHING, specifically anything I wanted him to. I decided that all I needed to do was pester him to do it, and that I did. That something was a model ship, made of wood, with lots of sails that I could show off to my friends and spend much of my free time admiring. I was at my grandparents' house often while my parents were working or whatever it is that parents did while my adolescent world was turning, but only twice was I able to convince grandpa to bring me down to his magnificent shop to build me a boat.

I need to interject and tell you a little bit about myself.

Growing up I LOVED building things. I spent so many hours with my big tupperware bin full of Legos that my hands would get torn up from swishing the legos back and forth searching for the pieces i needed for my various lego spaceships and castles. I spent a lot of time playing with K'nex, lincoln logs, and puzzles. I know now that I got this fascination of building things from my grandpa - to this day, there are few things that I am more proud of than the things that I have made since I've taken up carpentry as a hobby. Just this year I have bought nine books relating to carpentry and construction and have read nearly all of them. In addition to this I have purchased somewhere in the neighborhood of $2,000 on power tools and hand tools (far too much money for a college kid to be spending on a hobby!) The more I build and the more tools I buy, the more I realize the connection I have with my grandpa even though he never taught me to enjoy it. It is in my genetic code and I know it came from grandpa.

Back to the story.

The first boat he made was completely unacceptable. It was a speed boat made of two hunks of two-by-four shaped using his stationary sander and spray-painted neon orange and navy blue. It did not look at all how I imagined it should-in fact I may have said that I thought it looked dumb, I was not pleased and I knew he was holding back so I kept on bugging him.

After a good long time of persistent "pretty please"s and "oh come on!"s he finally made me a second boat that met my standards. It had three masts, a long smooth racing yacht like body, sails made by grandma complete with a flag. It even has a stand. Needless to say it was far more elegant than the first. I was happy. It was a source of inspiration to me when I was young - not to sail, no-do you think I care about sailing? It was a source of inspiration to build things, anything.

I still have these boats somewhere at my parents' home. I could tell though, even at that young age, that they came at the expense of many annoying hours of badgering from his bug-eyed overly-enthusiastic grandson. I could tell he was annoyed throughout that whole process. Maybe it was the way he spoke to me when he said, "Luke! Listen to me, there are dangerous tools in this shop! Sit down at this bench and play with these rubber bands and I will make the boat. Don't touch anything."

Then I grew up some, grandma died, and my family moved one state west. Grandpa got sick, I went to college, got married, and he got even sicker-but then grandpa got sober... or something happened (I'm not completely sure what) but grandpa was suddenly different. It was like he was a different person. He would speak from his heart and tell jokes and for the first time that I could ever remember he would say "I love you" and it sounded like he meant it.

My last visit to his house a few months ago is the most special for me. I talked with him for the first time about my new interest in carpentry as a hobby. I told him about the tools that I had bought and the projects that I was in the middle of.

He was interested. He said, "Turn over your hands and let me see..." he looked. "Very good... you know Luke, you turned out to be a fine young man."

Thanks, Grandpa.