Crafting with Cait

So I've been working with my "unofficial" mother-in-law(shabbygalsnest) on a few projects during my spare time. This one I saw on another blog and I had to try for myself!

I really should of done before and after pictures, but I really didn't think I would be blogging about this until last minutes. (: It was a pretty easy project to do and I think it turned out really super-cute. What do you think?

All it was was an old suitcase that I got from Salvation Army up in Desmoines, Iowa that I spray painted blue and modpodged a pretty patterned tissue paper to.

I got a table leg kit from Menard's and screwed them onto the bottom of the suitcase(after my boyfriend kindly cut out a piece of ply-wood for me to make it sturdier on the bottom of the suitcase table.

I had to end up taking some of the patterned tissue paper and modpodge it inside due to us having to tear out the liner on the bottom of the suitcase. I then took some padding that Traci had and covered over with drop-cloth to hide the plywood.


I think it turned out really cute! Too bad I don't have enough room in my apartment to keep this little number! :/





Stay Beautiful!
~Cait<3

Peachs N' Cream Chobani Smoothie

Whew what a weekend! Even though its the middle of the week I'm still super tired from my extremely busy weekend. Then followed work and a day of lounging around and I feel like I've gained my barrings once more.

This time of year, theres one thing on an Iowa's mind. You see it in deserts, you see it in entrees, etc etc. Peaches. As I was flipping through HY-VEE's Seasons magazine I saw come pretty tasty recipes and decided to jump on the bandwagon and create a tasty Chobani creation myself.

This little number is actually extremely easy to make(with only four ingredients!)

• 1 cup of Vanilla Almond Milk
• 1 container of Vanilla Chobani
• 1 Peach
• 1 cup of Ice

Blend to desired thickness and enjoy! Its super creamy and really sweet. Enough to quench your thirst on a hot Iowa day. (:

Stay Beautiful!
~Cait<3


Blueberry-Banana Chobani Smoothie

These past couple of days really have been hectic. I worked in the morning and then went straight to my parents house for a visit. My busy days are a death sentence for me, reason being...I don't eat as healthy as I should have.

Especially when I went to my parents house! We're a good ole fashioned Iowa family that live in the country and eat hearty meals. Going home this time is mostly like the rest...I ate and ate and ATE! After the greasy burgers, hash browns(weird combo I know but delicious nonetheless because I ADORE hash browns!), baked beans, etc etc. I finally managed to eat some almonds for a movie snack;however, they were dark chocolate flavored ones.

I think I made up for my splurging today though with barely eating anything because I wanted to get on the road early to head back home. Couple handfuls of cheerios was about my breakfast/early lunch equivalent today. I was feeling peckish and needed some form of pick-me-up...so I went to my blender for the answer.

Its a really blurry picture, I apologize, I desperately need my camera back from Taralynns! Anyway, I digress...

Its a lovely shade of pale purple and the taste is absolutely amazing. Its sweet and very filling for an afternoon pick-me-up snack.

Ingredients

1 container of Blueberry Chobani Greek Yogurt

1 Banana

1 cup of Vanilla Almond milk

1 cup of ice

Blend until smooth. I would of garnished with a little bit of whipped cream, but alas...I ran out!

Hope you enjoy!

~Stay Beautiful!

Cait<3

A Wonderful Day in Chobani Land

I love my lazy days off! I woke up this morning(pretty late...later than I would of liked) and made a pot of coffee. I absolutely love the smell off coffee in the morning....or just the scent of coffee in general.

Coffee is basically the miracle creation from the heavens. The taste is amazing and the aroma is like a siren beckoning you to come take a taste! The scent is also used in fragrance shops when you are testing out smells of perfumes. The coffee bean's release the scents in your nasal passage so you can continue smelling away at the other fragrances without having remaining smells in your nose! How neat is that!?

So this is my breakfast today! A cup of coffee mixed in with a couple lumps of sugar and a table spoon of Vanilla Latte coffee creamer from Coffee Mate(They didn't have my favorite: White Chocolate Caramel Mocha :/) and a Vanilla Chocolate Chunk Chobani Champions(whoa...try saying that 3 times fast!)


Alas this is my last Vanilla Chocolate Chunk Chobani, which saddens me; however, I have lots more flavors in my fridge. So its not quite time to stock up on Chobani just yet.

I absolutely love my coffee cup I found at my local Dollar General store! I was in desperate need of cute coffee cups since I may of only had one or two with an actual design and the rest being this big white ones that came with my dine ware set.

Whats your favorite, quick breakfast craving?
Usually mine is Chobani or oatmeal....or both together with fresh fruit!

~Stay Beautiful!
Cait

Chocolate Strawberry Chobani Smoothie

Like promised, I came up with a strawberry chocolate smoothie. Although its not my favorite one, its still pretty tasty.

I mean who doesn't like the taste of Chocolate and Strawberries, combine them together they are a blend of romantic tastes that can warm the heart of any female. Especially Godiva Chocolate covered strawberries!

Ingredients

• 1 cup of Vanilla Almond Milk
• 1 container of Vanilla Chocolate Chunk Chobani
• 4 Large Strawberries
• 1 tsp of Chocolate Syrup
• Ice/ whipped cream and chocolate drizzle

A tasty treat, perhaps I'll even make these for Valentine's day (:

~Stay Beautiful!

Cait<3

Just a Plain Day in Chobani Land

I honestly don't know what my problem is today! I feel like I have just the right amount of sleep, though I woke up far later than what I would have liked to initially today.

This morning I have been busy working on independent projects for TheShabbyGalsNext to try my luck at her booth this Saturday at the Swap Meet. Who knows, maybe I'll make some extra cash.

Fingers covered in spray paint(which I still need to go out and recoat my projects) and more layers of it to come, I decided to come inside and enjoy the air conditioning and grab myself a lunch. Nothing sounded good today! So I went to my go to choice to quench my hunger and get back to work on my projects I have been making.

As you can see, my finger tips are lightly coated with white and blue spray paint!

I decided while I was at the grocery store to mix things up and grab a box of Chobani Champions in Vanilla Chocolate Chunk because I thought that flavor sounded delicious! That and they don't sell the Vanilla Chocolate Chunk in regular Chobani sizes :/ Which makes me sad!

I topped it off with a little whipped cream and started munching in. The picture was after I had taken a few bites. (: Couldn't resist.
I have to say, since I've started blogging about Chobani and how to combine it as a base for your smoothies, I feel more fit and healthy(since the smoothies fill me up I'm not grazing on Doritos or other fatty foods I enjoy) Paired up with my exercise routine I feel like I'm getting closer to a healthier me.

So this post is basically dedicated to my all time favorite Chobani Flavors(as of so far)

1. Vanilla
2. Vanilla Chocolate Chunk
3. Strawberry Banana
4. Lemon
5. Blood Orange
6. Pineapple

That's pretty much a so far thing, I've got more flavors in my fridge and more recipes for smoothies cooking up in my mind. Perhaps a Strawberry Chocolate smoothie is in order?

Stay Beautiful!
~Cait

Slurping down Sunday

Phew! What a weekend! Working Friday through Sunday, dinner/bowling with friends on Saturday night(which I beat Joshua! YES!--NEVER happens!) and odds and ends errands that I had to do all weekend, I was completely wiped out!

I stocked up on Chobani yogurt--looks like a rainbow in my fridge, and got to work on my latest smoothie number to share. I hope you like it, because boy did I!

I call this one, Paradise Kiss because it has very tropical, summery flavors.

• 1 cup of Vanilla Almond milk
• 1 container of Pineapple Chobani
• 1 whole banana
• 1/2 cup of mango(because I'm sure that's all I cut off of it.)
• Ice/Top it off with some whipped cream and serve.

I really should get a new camera, because the focus is a bit weird on the picture--makes it look more brown when the real color is really a really light yellow color(like bananas).

Enjoy! Hopefully I get off this smoothie kick soon!

-Stay Beautiful!
~Cait

Slurping it down on Wednesday

Okay, lets just face it....there are two things I'm addicted to in life: 1. Chobani yogurt and 2. smoothies. Those two together are a very deadly combination for me. I woke up late again this morning(darn those late nights on Facebook!) and did my daily exercise routine before rummaging through my kitchen to find something that would give me a boost today since i have to work tonight.

I was running out of Chobani, only had a blood orange flavored one left,(since we desperately need to go grocery shopping!) and I didn't have anything that followed any particular recipe...so why not make one, right!? Whats the worse thing that could happen? It would taste gross and I could simply just play with it to make it taste better. No harm done.

I started throwing things in a blender and much to my surprise, it tasted quite amazing! Better than the Strawberry Lemonade Smoothie I made yesterday!

Tropical Chobani Smoothie

Recipe:

• 1 container of Blood Orange Chobani
• 1 cup of unsweetened vanilla Almond milk
• 1 8 oz. can of pinapple chunks
• 4 large strawberries(I used frozen)
• 2 cups of ice

Blend until desired smoothness(more ice the more thick it'll be.)
Top it off with whipped cream and enjoy!



It reminds me of a very tropical paradise drink that one would drink on a cruise ship on lounging on the beach in the Bahamas.

Stay Beautiful!
~Cait

Citrus Splendor

Okay, so people are going to think that my diet mainly consists of liquids. Which wouldn't be a complete understatement. Since I live in Iowa, or as I like to call it the scorching hot oasis that even the locals are wary about staying here for the summer, its very important to keep hydrated by whatever means necessary!

Since I moved to Saint Charles, I have learned a lot about the locals and learned even more about some tasty treats they make. One of them being this tasty, citrus drink. Its really simple to make and adds a kick to your regular lemonade taste! After all, who doesn't like a nice cup of lemonade on a hot summer day?

Recipe: Make a regular pitcher of Country Time lemonade and then slice up one large, naval orange. Next put the slices of the orange in the pitcher of lemonade and chill in the fridge. Remove oranges after a couple of hours and garnish the glasses with the slice if so desired. Enjoy this tasty summer drink!

I think this recipe would be cute if you are having a little BBQ get together. Get some small mason jars and put a small slice of orange in each little container after pouring in lemonade. Mess free and really cute! Fits in with the rustic-chique theme that's really trending this summer! 

Also, its really important to remove the oranges from the lemonade, otherwise it becomes really orange tasting and it over powers to lemonade taste altogether. So by removing them after a few hours it gives a perfect orange-lemon balance taste wise.

Stay Beautiful!

~Cait



Smoothing over Tuesday ;)

Today, since it was my day off, it was a late start. I'm in a love-hate relationship with sleeping in. One hand it keeps me refreshed; however, on the other hand it takes away part of my day. After waking up, around 11:30 a.m., and going with the motions of my normal day: checking emails, Facebook, etc. I did my exercise routine and realized I had totally skipped breakfast!

I'm normally not a heavy breakfast eater and will only eat it on occasion if 1. I'm craving pancakes, or 2. my boyfriend and I are going to IHOP.(Love their red velvet cake pancakes!) I normally just drink a cup of coffee and eat a piece of toast. Though since it was around lunch time,(and I wasn't that hungry) I decided to make a smoothie since they normally quenched my hunger and taste amazing!

I'm a major addict of pinterest(and even have some of my own pins for this blog) I pulled out a great summer flavor from a pinner for the Strawberry Lemonade Smoothie using Lemon Chobani. Plus I had everything that the recipe called for in the fridge, so that was a plus!

Here it is! You can find the actual recipe on the blogger's website(which I'm going to link in because I don't want to steal.)

I followed the recipe pretty closely, except since I don't have a zest grater, I didn't put in the lemon zest and I topped it off with some whipped cream--since I think that's my favorite part of Starbucks/Panera bread coffee's or smoothies.

The taste is a little tart, so if I were to do it again I may add a few more strawberries or some Stevia to the mix. But its not too terribly tart---just depends on your preference if you like sweet or yogurty smoothies.

This is defiantly going to be a summer favorite and would be a cute idea for a kid's play date or party---or even a big kid's play date or party ;)

The weather is finally cooling down here(for now) But it will be back, so until then I'm off finding more thirst quenching recipes to share.

Stay Beautiful!
~Cait

Creative Sunday

This really surprised me myself that I was so rearing to go for some creativity after a very long shift at work. I hit my my local Walmart for some crafting supplies(ribbon, fabric, etc.) and instantly a whole lot of ideas popped into my head in the Fabric/Craft section. Here are a few of the things that I made yesterday. (:

 I made this glass for my boyfriend's mother, Traci ^^, because we're always having some sort of drink together out on her patio since the weather is now acting like it might be nice to enjoy.

I picked up the margarita glass at Walmart for $1.97 and took a paint pen($1.98) to write her name. I then added self stick bling($.97 for a pack!) to add a little sparkle to the mix. I think it turned out cute! And yesterday when we had strawberry margaritas she had a glass to drink it out of!

 Even though I've only been living in my apartment a year, I'm still working on the decorating process of it. I define my style using the term French-shabby-chique. This term mainly means that I use a lot of French inspired pieces with a shabby-chique twist to them.

I am absolutely in love with the Fleur delis sign, I probably have it around my apartment in ten different places!

For my little door sign, I took the lid of a cheese crate I got from work and spray painted it white. I then took stencils and drew on the Fleur delis signs along with my boyfriend's last name and the french word for bedroom. "Chambre". I think it turned out really cute(even if the last word is a bit off center :/)

 This project is more for my breaking into The Shabby Nest business with Traci. Though instead of me doing the big furniture pieces, I will be working on the smaller goods(lamp-shades, etc.)

<----I made this planter out of the bottom piece of the cheese crate and spray painted it white before stenciling/paint markering a famous quote from "The Secret Garden" I think it turned out really cute!

Finally the last piece I worked on Sunday(which it looks like I was quite busy with the whole crafting aspect of my day xD) was redoing a lamp shade that I had in my living room.  Before it was a simple white lamp shade that came with the lamp that we had bought for the apartment. I covered it in burlap(my latest design love) and trimmed it up with ivory colored, flowery-ruffle ribbon. I'm not sure if my boyfriend likes it, but...he'll get used to it. I think this one turned out super cute, though I'm not sure if I should add a Fleur delis sign to it or not...would that be too much?

That was my Sunday! (: Plus I plan to do more crafty sort of things on my day off(Tuesday) so I'll be posting soon.

~Stay Beautiful!

Cait