WILW 12.18.13 Christmas Wishlist Edition

It was nearly impossible to compile a Christmas wishlist because (aside from a huge pile of money and a car) I have everything I could possibly want. Here's a few things I've been swooning over lately, however.

1. Nacy Blue lacey ballet flats from Mod Cloth. I have some sort of obsession with the color blue lately. I don't know what it is. I think it stemmed from really being into sapphires (my birth stone). These shoes are so perfect.

2. I want a chained set of hairclips. End of story. I've been doing much more with my hair since I cut my bangs. I'm just trying to have more fun with it.

3. I keep trying to bid on this eyeball bracelet on Ebay but keep being outbid. I won the ring about a week ago and would love to win the necklace as well. Kind of an oddball piece. Like I need another one of those.

4. This beautiful black fitted dress from Mod Cloth. How pretty is this? And paired with a colored cardigan and some matching shoes? Blah. I love this dress.

5. This set of celestial tea set photographs. I would hate to change the colors in my kitchen (black, white and red) but I may make an exception for these!

So to appologise for my lack of posting, how about a playlist?

1. Terraplane Sun - Get Me Golden
2. Strange Talk - Climbing Walls
3. Stroke 9 - Little Black Backpack
4. Capital Cities - Kangaroo Court
5. Jake Bugg - Lightning Bolt

Decorating a Decoden Cabochon Compact Mirror

As you all may or may not know, Stylish Smithereens Creative Corner does have a YouTube channel. I do, from time to time post hauls, tutorials, diys and more there. Here's my most recent video which I uploaded yesterday. How to make a decoden cabochon compact mirror! Enjoy!

What I Wore ...On Thanksgiving

I'll be honest here. I totally forgot that I had taken pictures of my outfit on Thanksgiving. Here's what I wore that day:

Here is the overall look.

basic black tank top: unknown (Target probably)

white lace button up: unknown, the tag reads Faded Glory though

jeans: Ross

lace ballet flats: Alloy.com

owl necklace: forever 21

owl bracelet: ebay

I also wore a taupe bomber jacket from Target and a black infinity scarf from Sears. I really enjoyed putting this look together and got a lot of nice comments about it. I felt comfortable yet somewhat elegant.

Making An Apple Pie (Recipe)

This Thanksgiving was one for firsts all right. It was the first time I didn't go to my parent's house for dinner, the first time I met my boyfriend's grandparents, and the first time I was asked to bake a pie. Now, I have never baked a pie before, despite the fact that I do enjoy baking quite a bit. Here's the recipe I followed (and modified). I hope you all will give it a try!

The Crust

Ingredients

4 cups all purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 chilled bowl of water

1 egg

2 sticks salted butter (or lard/fat)

• combine your dry ingredients into a large mixing bowl.
• break egg into your water bowl and mix it in.
• cut the butter into the dry ingredients bowl and mix it in. I dove right in with my hands when it came to mixing so that I could more thoroughly do it as I didn't have proper mixing tools.
• begin to mix in your egg/water mixture. Do so only 1 tablespoon at a time. When it starts to stick together, it's good!
• divide your 'dough' into two equal portions and put into two ziplock bags. Flatten all of the air out and refrigerate for 1 hour.
• after the hour wait, flour a rolling pin and a cutting board and roll out one portion of the dough. place the pie plate over the dough to check the fit then fold the dough in quarters then forths to pick up and place into plate. Unfold with center of dough in center of pie plate. (*if your dough rips here, just get a little bit of water on your finger and smooth it back into place.
• with a small knife or kitchen shears, trim the edges of dough to fit the plate.
• repeat the rolling process for the second portion of dough and once it is flat, cut 1 inch wide, long strips for your lattice.
• put your cut apples (see filling recipe below!) into your pie plate on top of crust and start placing your lattice strips onto apples. Once it is how you like it, seal and crimp your edges with a fork then put into fridge for 30 minutes.

The Filling

Ingredients

8-10 Granny Smith Apples peeled, cut and cored

1/2 cup unsalted butter

3 tbs flour

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup water

• preheat your oven to 425 degrees and turn on a burner to high heat.
• in a sauce pan pour your butter and 3 tbs of flour, stir, and let cook for 1 minute
• then add in your sugar, packed brown sugar and water. let this mixture come to a boil and reduce. cook like this for 5 minutes.
• pull your pie out of the fridge (if/when ready) then pour your filling mixture over the crust. smooth out over the top with a spatula. most of the filling should flow into the lattice work on your pie and what is left on top will make your crust even more flaky.
• pop your pie into the oven for 15 minutes
• then turn your oven down to 350 degrees and cook for 35-45 minutes.

and that's all! I improvised a lot of this recipe to make it work for us and I was glad that Josh had offered to help me with the apples and filling. It was a lot of fun and came out deliciously! There should also be another picture to your right on my Instagram widget so you can take a peek at the process.

What I Love Wednesday 11.27.13

Hey everyone! Look who's actually doing her WILW on time! Let's get straight into it (I have a pie to make in less than 10 minutes!)

I swear that allrecipes.com has been my best friend since I have moved out on my own. It has taught me to make chicken, rice and more recently (like, tonight) a pie! There are several different recipes and ideas on it and I'm so excited to expand my cooking repertoire.

I have been pretty much in love with boot cuffs this season and am really trying to make a pair of my own. I found a pattern on ravelry but have somehow managed to go in a completely different direction once I got halfway in. I'll be sure to post the pattern once I finish at least one of them. ( these are from etsy!)

I kind of stumbled upon these while watching a Mortem3r video. She was talking about her wedding headpiece and I found the Etsy shop she got her antler fascinator from and these. I am obsessed with these. I would love to find some kind of mold or something so that I can make my own from clay. These would be a magnificent statement piece.

Long time penpal, RTA friend and Etsy buddy of mine, Karina has made these cute ornaments for the Christmas season. She's giving half of her earnings to the Animal Orphanage in Voorheese, NJ. Please visit her site and check out her other creative Ornaments for Animals and help out a furry friend this season!

I bought this red glitter nail polish by Sally Hansen on my last venture to Target in hopes of doing some sort of fantastical nail art with it, but my nails have all since broken due to hormonal changes (coughcough) and I'm sat here with stumps. I'll hopefully be painting them up like delicious winter candies once they get a bit longer and stronger! This particular color is called Red Carpet btw.

Product Review: Sally Hansen Wax Strips

Hiya friends. It's that special, rare time again when I review a beauty item that I use. As you all know, I never claim to be a beauty guru but I am a human girl and I do like to share items that I use, like, and frequently buy. Today I'd like to share my experience with the Sally Hansen Wax Strip Kit.

I'd first like to to say that I have never tried any of the waxing products by Sally Hansen and am usually impressed with their nail products so I thought I would give this a try. I sadly have to say that this product was a complete fail in my book.

The idea is that you have to warm up the strip with you hands, peel and apply then pull off to remove the strip and unwanted hair. While I did all of that when I went to remove my strip, the wax stayed on my body and was really hard to remove. Once painfully removed, my skin stayed red for a long while.

Since using, I have seen mixed reviews on the product. It does work for some people, just not for me. I sadly would not recommend this product to anyone.

What I Love Wednesday 11.20.13

I'm trying to get back on track with these WILWs . I'll admit that I've been terrible about keeping this blog up to date and I'm going to look into doing one of those Google Scheduling deals. I'm the worst when it comes to getting everything on my lists done. Anyway...

Wooden Signs by Kaelah Bee

These wooden signs by Kaelah Bee. I can't really even remember how I found Kaelah but I know I've been following her blog for a long time. These signs are so inspiring and I love them. I love the look that they have and the rustic - homey vibe they give off. I may to replicate one to put in our house or buy one from the master herself! I am obsessed with these. Here's her blog: Kaelah Bee

Poppies

I've been looking at a lot of artwork to add to the house lately and I've been thinking about how I'd like to add a picture of poppies to the kitchen. Our kitchen is black white and red and I think poppies would be a perfect addition!

Tooth / Tentacle Necklace

I saw this tooth / tentacle necklace a while back and I have been admiring it ever since. I love how it combines nature and metal. It's just an odd piece and I would love to join it to my collection. 

Robot Unicorn Attack 2

I almost feel ashamed to admit that I added this game to my tablet, but I'm not. It's incredibly fun and challenging and reminds me of this other Korean game that Josh and I used to play. I really like this game a little better though because I can actually read what it says and it has other capabilities. So fun and addicting. Also the song Always by Erasure is super nostalgic.

Don't Trust the B---- in Apt 23

Finally we have this television gem. This show was coming out when I moved out so I didn't have a chance to watch this. This show is hilarious and it is so my type of comedy. It reminds me of Two Broke Girls a little bit. You really feel a close connection with the characters and even Josh sat and watched a few episodes with me and loved it. I can't wait until more episodes premiere! 

That's all! I think I'll do a product review on Friday. See you then!