Life Planner

Not only was yesterday (November 5th) the most epic college football game in regular-season football history, but it was also the day that my Erin Condren Life Planner arrived!

My friend Page introduced me to the Life Planner a couple of weeks ago when she saw one of her friend's and thought I would enjoy it. Well, she knows me well, because I soon became obsessed and had to have one.

Although I have just begun to use it, I'm already in love with it. Here are a few reasons why...

1. It is super cute!
-- There are lots of designs to choose from. You can choose to use already made color themes or pick your own.
-- I chose the main part of my Life Planner to be my initials - who doesn't love monograms! Then I put my name in all caps below. You can do different things depending on the design you choose, and it is super easy to tell them what you want.
-- It is also a fantastic size, at 7" x 9" it can easily fit into my backpack or purse.

2. Tabs!
-- Each month begins with a stiff divider that has a calendar of the entire month and a colored TAB! Who doesn't love tabs!
-- The tabs make it super easy to flip quickly between months to look up dates or schedule appointments in advance.
-- The monthly calendar makes showing big events easy, and tabs make them easy to get to!

3. Colors!
-- Each month has a different color-scheme, often based on an appropriate event/holiday that takes place in that month.
-- The colors make the planner more festive and inviting while also making it easier to tell months apart when flipping through.



4. Weekly Spreads!
-- Each week has a two page spread with a column for each day, and each day is split up into three boxes: morning, day and night.
-- For me, these help distinguish things I have in class, work/activities in the afternoon, and things I have to do at night like homework. It also helps split up work/class/meetings, etc.
-- On the left of each week spread is a mini month calendar, a "goals" list and a "to do" list.
----- For people with motivation problems, the goals list is a great tool.
-- I plan to use the "to do" list on the side for big things that I need to get done at some point in the week.
----- For my daily to-do lists, I cut post-it notes in half. Halved post-its fit perfectly in any of the columns, so I can put my to-do list on a certain day or in the left margin, wherever it fits best at the moment.
-- It comes with a handy little spiral clip to use as a page marker. It is discrete and stylish and makes flipping straight to the current week super easy.

5. Stickers!
-- The Life Planner comes with 6 pages of stickers in the back, two pages printed with events, and four pages of blank stickers.
-- The stickers fit perfectly in the daily column.
-- All of the different colors can be used to color-code things!!! There nothing better than color-coding!!
-- Pre-printed stickers include...

----- Birthday!
----- Party!
----- Game!
----- Concert!
----- Hair Apt. @ ___
----- Doc Apt. @ ___
----- No School!
----- Mani/Pedi
----- Girls Night
----- Sale!
----- Camping
----- Wedding
----- Vacation!
----- Date Night
----- Massage
----- Babysit

6. Pockets!
-- In the back, there is a double-sided "Keep It Together" pocket page where you can easily slip receipts, notes, coupons, clippings, etc.
-- If you choose to order the matching, personalized notepads, you can store one in one of the keep it together pockets.
-- In the back is also a handy zipper pocket. It is fantastic for keeping small things, especially those that may slide out of the keep it together pocket. Because I am in love with Post-It notes, I put some in my zipper pocket for safe keeping. I also put halved post-its on the back keep it together pocket for easy access when making to-do lists.

7. Note Pages!
-- At the beginning/end of each month, there are lined pages to jot down notes (easily accessible thanks to the handy-dandy month tabs).
-- At the back of the Life Planner there are also completely blank note pages. I used the other spiral clip to mark the note pages to make access easy when jotting things down.







8. Inspirational Quotes
-- Throughout the Life Planner, there are also inspirational quotes. They appear most often at the top of note pages before each month and other dividing places.

        Now, the price is a little steep. It is $50 for the Life Planner. However, when you start to think about it, the price really isn't that bad. I could easily make one myself - using photoshop or another program to create the pages, printing them, getting the cover laminated at Kinkos and getting it all bound. But it would take a lot of tie to do this, changing the colors for each month, putting in all of the right dates.
        And then you have to think about how much that would cost...it would be a LOT of ink, and getting specially sized paper, and then paying for the laminating and binding...it is really more trouble than it is worth. Another thing to consider is how much typical ugly, monotone planners are at office depot. A nice one with monthly and weekly spreads that last an entire year are usually at least $25. 
        Fortunately, I was able to find a coupon code and get $25 off of my purchase. My total with tax and shipping was $33.27. I used the code "seeyousoon25". I'm not sure how long it will work, but you can always just google "Erin Condren Coupon Code." That's how I found it!


I'm already in love with my Life Planner, and I can't wait to start using it all the time!

You can purchase your own personalized Life Planner here.

-Soo Coco

Jack Daniels Honey Ribs & Grilled Peaches

November 5, 2011: LSU #1 vs. Alabama #2. It was an epic gameday. For the first time in history, the #1 and #2 teams of the same conference faced each other during a regular season game. Tickets were going for over $500 a piece, with prime seats selling for $10,000 each.


Naturally, I wasn't willing to pay $375 for a ticket like one of my roommates, so I decided to stay home and get stuff done. But of course, gameday was not as productive as I would have hoped. Instead, I slept in, and then started brainstorming my epic meal. What was I going to cook? As if it was fate, my mom called while I was looking through my "Grill It!" cookbook to tell me about an amazing rib recipe one of her friends had just told her about. So, naturally, that's what I decided to cook. Ribs with Jack Daniel's BBQ Sauce and Honey with a side of Grilled Peaches. Mmmm, that sounds good. 


THE RIBS

1. Buy Ribs at the grocery store and cut them into two pieces to make handling easier.

2. Season the ribs with some salt, pepper and either Tony Chachere's (or another Cajun spice) OR salt, pepper, garlic powder and spice (like cayenne pepper).

3. Wrap the ribs in aluminum foil. They need to be wrapped VERY tightly.
-- I wrapped them first in an overly large piece, folding it over itself, rolling it up and crumpling it to seal the ribs.
-- Then I used another normal-sized piece to wrap around it, just to make sure it was perfectly sealed.

4. Put the ribs in the oven for about 2 hours at 325°. The time depends on how many ribs you are cooking.
-- It is smart to put a baking sheet with a piece of foil over it on the rack under the ribs. They may (as mine did) drip, and you don't want juice accumulating in the bottom of your oven. I learned this the hard way.


5. When your ribs are cooked, take them out of the oven and set aside. 
-- While they are cooking, you can make the sauce and light the grill. 


THE RIB SAUCE

6. Combine 1/2 stick (4tbsp) butter and 3-4tbsp honey in a small saucepan. 
-- Heat on medium until the butter is melted and stir until it is well combined. 
-- Pour in 1c of Jack Daniel's Original No. 7 Recipe Sauce. Heat and stir until well combined.
-- Add more honey to your taste (but read the next step before adding more).
-- Set aside to use later.


7. Combine 1/4 stick (2tbsp) butter and 2 tbsp honey in another small saucepan.
-- Heat on medium until the butter is melted and stir until it is well combined.
-- Once your ribs are cooked, cover the ribs in this butter and honey sauce. I used one of the grilling brushes to paint the sauce onto the ribs. 


THE GRILLED PEACHES

8. Pit two peaches and cut into slices. I had about 8 slices per peach, but my peaches were HUGE. Don't make them too thin, but not too fat. 
-- Sprinkle the peach slices with a bit of balsamic vinegar. Not too much, just drizzle!


THE GRILLING

9. Take everything outside to grill! Remember earlier on, perhaps while your ribs are still in the oven and before you make the sauce, to start the grill. Some take longer than others to start. The grill that I use particularly sucks, so I started it about 30 minutes before I wanted to use it to make sure it lit (thanks Cottages...).
-- Put the ribs on the grill without the BBQ sauce (covered in the butter/honey sauce only). Let them cook for about 10 minutes, depending on your grill. 
-- Then brush the BBQ Sauce (infused with honey and butter) onto the ribs. Let them cook for another 10 minutes or so. 
-- Be sure to make sure they don't overcook!
-- Put the peaches on the grill, starting on one side. They do not take long at all too cook. Depending on your grill (remember, mine particularly sucks, so I didn't time them), the cook time will differ.
-- Cook on each side until they have grill marks and start to become a somewhat soft. Flip them over, and cook for the same amount of time.
-- Watch your peaches and make sure they don't get too squishy!
(NOTE: There is also sausage in the picture...I figured why not grill some sausage while I had the grill going!)


ALL DONE! (Om nom nom...)

Enjoy your ribs and peaches, preferable with a nice brew (I chose Shiner Bock - thanks dad!) and an epic game on the TV. Friends and good music would be a nice alternative. 

Happy grilling!


-Soo Coco

P.S. GEAUX TIGERS!

Pumpkin Carving

Halloween 2011: Tiger-Eye Fleur De Lis Pumpkin
GEAUX TIGERS!

I love carving pumpkins around Halloween, and as I've gotten older, I've started doing more complex designs. I have figured out the easiest and most perfect way to do it, at least for me. And of course I'm going to share it with you!

Some people buy pumpkin carving kits. We used to, and with small children it is probably smarter than using knives, but since I'm a college kid, I think I can handle knives. (And then I can save that money for my costume or some drinks at the bar...)

Before you start, be sure to lay out newspaper on your working surface. I did it outside so that our cottage wouldn't smell like raw pumpkin (my roommates don't really enjoy the smell). I also brought out a bowl to put the guts in, and another smaller one for the seeds. I always save the seeds! When you're finished with your pumpkin, you can roast the seeds for a nice festive treat!

EMPTYING YOUR PUMPKIN: I didn't take pictures of it, but cutting the top and emptying it is super easy.
1. Use a big knife, carve a circle around the top. Be sure to leave a triangular "notch" so that you can put the top back on correctly (you can see this on the top left side of the pumpkin in picture 1 below).
2. Cut off the strings and a small slice of "meat" from the top.
3. Pull out as much meat and stringy stuff as you can with your hands. It's fun and squishy! When doing this, I had two bowls - one for all of the squishy guts, and another for the seeds. It is easier to separate the seeds now while your hand are already covered in pumpkin guts.
4. Scrape out the rest of the guts and a thin layer of meat with a large spoon. Metal spoons are the best, because the edge can scrape into the meat and pull it out. I just scrape away and every now and then dump out what has accumulated inside.
-- Try to make the bottom as even as you can so that you can sit a candle in it later.
5. Once your pumpkin is all clean inside, you're ready to carve!

1. Print your design and tape it on your pumpkin. I love making intricate designs, but I'm not the best at creating them from scratch on my own. So I always start by finding a picture of what I want and printing it out. (Thanks, Google Images!)
-- It takes a bit of trial and error to get it to the right size. Try putting a piece of blank paper on your pumpkin, marking about the size that you want on the paper, laying it flat, and resizing the picture to take up about the same amount of space on the computer. I do this in Microsoft Word.
---- Computer note: To freely move and resize the picture, change the text wrapping of the picture to "square" or something other than in-line. This is on the picture toolbar.
-- Once it is a good size, cut it out and tape it onto your pumpkin. You'll have to tape it in lots of places, and it will not lay perfectly flat, but that's alright.

2. Use a push-pin to outline your design. It is really hard to draw the perfect design straight onto your pumpkin, but using a knife with a paper template cuts away pieces and gets increasingly hard to keep in place. To solve this problem, I use the push-pin method!
-- Using a push pin (or needle, something that is thin with a sharp point), outline your design with little holes.
-- Be sure to think about what you want to cut out. If your design has tons of thin lines, you may want to simplify it and make things thicker. Thin slices of pumpkin shrivel up quickly.
-- Once you have finished puncturing your outline, carefully take the template off, but DO NOT throw it away! You'll want it close by as a reference to make sure you don't cut anything wrong!

3. Play connect the dots with your knife. Do this section-by-section. If you need to, you can cut large pieces into two or three (as I did above with the top tiger stripe).
-- I use a small knife and first trace along the dots to make a sort of "track" before cutting all the way through. This makes getting the curves smooth easier.
-- Cut out the section, making sure your knife goes all the way through the pumpkin. If your pumpkin is too thick, get your spoon out again and shave away more layers of meat. But make sure you don't take too much away!

4. Punch out the cut-out piece.
-- I stick my knife sideways into the crack and use it to pull out the piece of pumpkin. You can also stick your hand inside the pumpkin and push it out.
-- The meat will make the actual hole small due to the angle of the knife when cutting. That's okay! Once you pull the chunk out, you can go back through and trim away excess meat.

5. Trim away the excess meat. This will maximize the amount of light from the candle that makes it out of the pumpkin, making your design more distinct.
-- Be sure not to make the wall of the pumpkin too thin! Cut straight down or angled slightly inward. Making the pumpkin wall too thin will make it shrivel up faster.

Repeat the above steps all the way around your design.

Because my design was the Tiger Eye Fleur de Lis, it was a little difficult to really see the design without outlining it. So I decided to cut a small outline to really make the design distinct.

6. Replace your template and use the pushpin or your knife to trace the outline. DO NOT cut all the way through the pumpkin. This is a very shallow cut.
-- Once it is all the way outlined, take off the template and go along the outline cut you just made, angling your knife so that it cuts out a shallow trench.
-- Remember, this outline is VERY shallow. If you go too deep or cut all the way through, your entire design will pop out.
-- Even though it is shallow, cutting away the outermost layer of the pumpkin will allow a small glow to come through the outline. 

Now put a candle in your pumpkin and the top back on and you're all finished!

This is how mine turned out...

Daytime Tiger Eye Fleur de Lis Pumpkin

The pumpkin lit up!

Happy carving!

-Soo Coco

The Swing

(This post is LONG overdue...)

Our front porch was a bit bare, so I decided to bring my porch swing from my old house. All was going well, it was a bit annoying to get the screws into the wood, but I managed it.

The old swing (already slightly sanded and hanging on my new front porch)

SUPPLIES-- 2 large wood screws with an eye
-- 2 S hooks
-- 2 long pieces of sturdy chain (make sure it is long enough!)
-- Swing
-- Tools (screwdriver, nail, hammer, a drill if possible)

PAINTING THE SWING
I attempted to sand down the swing completely to stain it, but I couldn't find an electric sander and didn't want to invest in one, so I did a rough sand and re-painted it. I actually hung the swing before I painted it so that I could get underneath it easily.
-- Make sure you put down some kind of tarp or something (I used a $2 shower curtain liner from Wal-Mart.)
-- Have a large brush to get the big areas and a smaller one to get in the cracks and small spaces.
-- On the first coat, it is okay if it is streaky. The more you try to paint it, the more you're just going to push around the paint, actually taking paint off. The first coat is NOT supposed to be perfect. That's what the second coat is for.
-- Be sure you read the directions on the paint as far as drying time between first and second coat! All paints are different.

PUTTING UP THE SWING
1. Decide where you want to hang it. I actually put it up once and then decided I didn't like it, so I re-did it. Try to avoid this by placing the swing below wherever you choose to hang it to make sure it is where you want it.
2. Mark the spots where you are going to put the hooks in the ceiling or wherever you are hanging it from. Make sure they are even and centered.
3. Make a hole using a hammer and nail (or drill) on the mark. It took me a while to figure out the best process for this.
-- You need the hole to be big enough to be able to start the screwing.
-- I ended up using an old, stripped phillips head screwdriver and hammered that into the wood to make the hole bigger. You can make this much easier by using a larger nail or a drill (but us poor college kids have to make do with what we have!)
4. Insert the screw into the hole and start twisting it. You should feel it catch and see it going into the wood.
-- Make sure it is straight!
5. Use a screwdriver to continue screwing once it starts getting to hard with your bare hands. To do this...
-- Insert the screwdriver through the eye of the screw. The screwdriver should be perpendicular to the straight part of the screw and parallel to the ceiling.
-- Use the leverage of the screwdriver to turn the screw. It can still be difficult (trust me, my arms were sore the next day), but it is much easier than doing it just with your bare hands.
6. Hang the S hooks and chain once your screws are in all the way. One side of the S hook hangs from the eye of the screw, the other holds the chain.
7. Connect the swing to the hanging chains, and you're done!

All finished! Such a nice little front porch getaway.

I then made pillows for my swing because I decided it needed a bit of comfort and something to spruce it up. I made a simple envelope pillow case and used some small pillows that I had on my bed that I didn't really want anyway. (Someday when I get a chance, I will write a tutorial on making envelope pillow cases).

-Soo Coco