The Unbounded Pail List

Talking with some friends last night, I realized that I said: "I have never flown in first class, but it always seems like it would be so much nicer!"

And it was then, I decided I should make a pail list! Why a pail list? Because 'bucket list' is too cliche. But a pail is just a synonym for bucket, so what makes the difference? The difference is that it catches peoples attention for a split second longer and makes them think about what this is.

If you are a person who is hobbyless, this is a good exercise to try. Think of all the things that you don't do, haven't done, always wanted to do but haven't had the opportunity, wouldn't think to do because it is out of your comfort zone, spending limit, etc. Then, make a list of all these things, and do them. It doesn't have to be written down, it can just be in your mind. However, I do think that it is more likely you will actually do them if you have it written down and kept in a place that you often see or will come across on a regular basis.

Now, the next step is to figure out how to make the opportunity to do all of the activities you have listed. For the typical bucket list, its known to be all the things you would do before you die. My thinking is...sure that sounds good, but you never know when you are going to die. It could be today, tomorrow. Heck, it could have been yesterday.In which case, I am a little freaked out if you are reading this.   My point being that either you may not ever complete your bucket list, and if you have a theoretical 80-100 years to complete it, doesn't that seem like ample time to forget about it all, procrastinate on checking things off, and what not? 

Anyways, for the pail list, it needs to be a specific time period that you set for yourself to have done all of your activities by. For example, the author of yesandyes.org did something similar, where she set out to do 34 new things before and up to her 34th birthday! 

I am going to make a list, because I think it will be fun, and it will help me to improve and grow as a person, build character, expand my horizon, and learn to do new things, like new things, or just to try new things even if that means never ever trying them again. 

I talked about doing this a while back with my husband, so coming up on our 1 year anniversary, I think now is the time to actually do it. I am planning to add things that I can do myself, as well as things him and I can do together. My goal is to do all of these things by our 5 year anniversary (October 8, 2016)

To start:

1. Fly first class
2. Ride in a hot air balloon
3. Stay in a real tree house in a rainforest
4. Wilderness camping
5. Learn to start a fire the real way
6. Buy an airstream camper
7. Remodel an airstream camper
8. Buy a VW bus
9. Remodel a VW bus
10. Finish rebuilding our cafe racer motorcycle
11. Make homemade wine
12. Learn to play an instrument
13. Take singing lessons
14. Sing in front of a crowd
15. Sell something I have handmade/sewn/built/upcycled
16. Learn to crochet/knit
17. Try eating a foreign delicacy (beatles/cat/dog...depending where you are)
18. Take up the full time preaching work
19. Live in another country
20. Learn another language
21. Go hunting... and eat what I kill
22. Try being vegetarian for a week (and actually stick to it this time)
23. Don't partake of any alcohol for a week

..... to be continued

Have fun with it! The options and ideas are unbounded, really.

How 'bout dem apples?

This past week, we had dinner with some friends. And naturally, I asked what I could bring, or what I could do to help or contribute in some way. I was asked to bring dessert... and then discovered that I don't actually have any recipes for desserts because that's one thing Josh and I do not eat much- of sweets. So, there I was, just a couple of hours before dinner scrounging through cupboards, looking through cook books, and picking my own brain to come up with something good. *sigh*

Here's what I ended up making:

Hazelnut Fuji Apples!

What you need:

Apples (your favorite kind)
Brown sugar
Hazelnut liqueur (or for the non-alcoholic fans, hazelnuts would work well)
Ice cream (once again your favorite kind. I used coconut pineapple and boy was it something delightful)
Toppings (I prefer nuts)
Honey

What to do with the things you need:

1) Preheat oven to 350° (I failed to mention ''oven'' in the things you need. I'll assume you already have one, though)

2) Core the apples, but make sure you don't core all the way through to the bottom of the apple, or else all of your toppings will fall through and the flavors won't be held in the baking process

3) Rub brown sugar into the inside perimeter of the cored apples. Then drizzle some of the hazelnut liqueur inside, allowing it to pool.

4) Place apples into a baking dish, and then into the oven. Allow them to bake approximately 1 hour (until soft but not mushy)

5) Allow apples to cool. Then proceed to fill with ice cream. Top with toppings. Drizzle with honey.

6) Eat, and enjoy!

The Hatch Hotel

It's been a few days... I know.

Josh and I along with another couple are going to be making a trip to Isla Mujeres, Mexico in about two weeks! Kind of as the first part of our anniversary vacation. It will be a nice relaxing vacation... with not all that much to do, other than lay in the sun, enjoy the endless booze fountains, and maybe do a few water activities.

The hotel we booked is of course, an all inclusive. So I am sure that I will be coming back you know... 10 pounds or more heavy. Anywho, I am excited about this for several reasons- beach, sun, heat, drinking, friends, ocean, and a jacuzzi on our balcony!! That's right, a balcony jacuzzi, overlooking the beach. It's gonna be awesome! But, to have that perk, it cost an extra little pretty penny. And why wouldn't it?

This takes me to the part where I explain that on vacation, when it comes to where I sleep it has to be very clean, pretty, have good eats, good drinks, a very very very comfortable bed, nice bathroom, and all that good stuff. Because I feel like if I am going somewhere for as long as a week, it needs to be worth leaving my cozy home for. I guess the location itself typically is why we would leave, but why shouldn't the hotel be at the same level?

Fortunate for us, we are good deal hunters so we almost always find super sweet hotels for inexpensive prices- because probably these places realize that they are too over priced and aren't getting the business they'd like, so they run a deal to draw people. I bite!

Josh, on the other hand, could definitely be good with anything that's cheapish. The cheaper the better for him. He can do hostels, tent sleeping...without an air mattress. You get the point.

So I am trying to stop being so particular and needy, and meet him somewhere in the middle.

The second half of our trip, though, is Josh and Me doing a road trip from home, to Boston where we will stay for a couple of days, and then heading up the coast into Maine. We (as of yet) have not booked any hotels and really have no idea as to what we are going to be doing, where we are going to be staying, etc. So when I was thinking about this, I had a pretty little lightbulb pop up! And thought to myself, "we could save some money and still have a cool place to stay if we slept in the hatch of our car for a very small portion of this trip!" We measured, and basically we could fit either one twin size mattress in there to sleep on, or we could fit two of those little camping pads.

I gotta start somewhere, right?

I could make it really nice, and hang up some sheets to cover all of the windows at night. But, then I came to realize that there is no solution to our not having a shower problem if we do this. Well, I guess we will figure it out?

You only live once!

How I started a garden... and how YOU can, too!

No kidding that starting a garden was low on my list of things to do... when I felt like I had lots of things to do. But remember that time I told you about how I had (for a short while) stopped doing things? Yeah... until I realized that I really needed to do something again. Whether it be getting back into exercising, playing sports, arting, crafting, cooking (all the things I used to enjoy doing before I just... quit doing them). Well, when my hubby and I moved into our new place of living, we had a few requirements

1) Two Bedrooms- because we didn't want the stinky ferrets having the run of the house anymore

2) Garage- because we wanted a place to work on our motorcycle, and any other messy projects we might decide to get into

3) Lots of storage- because this was something we found ourselves to be lacking when we lived in a large loft apartment

4)Yard 

Notice how there is no real reason for wanting a yard? That's because I didn't really have a specific plan in mind. I just thought "hey, some extra outdoor space would be nice. Maybe we can get a firepit...because, hey, we like fires!" 

But then, the more I started thinking of things I wanted to do, I decided that gardening would be a really great hobby! For several reasons: It would give me something to do. It'd be something to learn more about. It'd take a bit of time, effort, planning, and consistent care. I could reap delicious things from it! Okay, and it's pretty.

So, that's what I decided to do. I dug a 20' long by 3' wide garden. This was quite a project. In my first 10 minutes of digging, I came to find that we have horrible clay soil. Hard, dry, packed, unbuggy clay. The kind of soil that you just know won't encourage anything to grow, hence, a bit discouraging. Days and days were spent digging, and crumbling large chunks of clay to become decent enough soil to plant in. Then, I went and bought gardening soil, and mixed it in with the clay... and tilled, and mixed, and tilled, and mixed... you get the point. 

TOO MUCH WORK!

By day 6, I think it was, the plot was finally ready to feed things. I really wanted to keep it to an all vegetable/fruit/herb garden, but you should know this about me- I don't often stick to my original plans for myself. Because I like to buy things that catch my eye. So in my search for all of these plants (which was a chore in itself because we got a late start in the year) I came across many other beautiful plants. But mostly, I love love love lilies! Casa Blanca lilies, calla lilies, day lilies, you name it. So I found me a beautiful blooming day lily, a couple of tomato plants, jalapeño plant, strawberries, green and red bell peppers, basil, parsley, and cilantro. 

I came home, planned out where all of them should go, and planted away! I had a few things die on me in the first week or so, due to them being shocked and whatnot, but it all made a great comeback! 

Since then, everything is blooming and growing like a weed! I find gardening to be relaxing, peaceful, interesting, and healthy. 

These (above) were my tomato plants just a couple days after buying them. And those are my little adorable makeshift trellises made out of bamboo skewers and electrical tape! (Creative, right?)

And now, here they are. My little babies have outgrown two trellises, and forced us to step it up to a good 8' tall by 4' wide trellis to give them enough room. They also kicked the jalapeño plant out of their home, and he has been relocated. Aren't they a beauty? 

So, do you wanna give green thumbing a try? 

Here are a few tips for the willing:

1) Just do it! More than likely you'll find it to be rewarding in more ways than one. And if not, you're only out a few bucks.

2) You don't have to go large. Buy a little parsley plant or a mint plant. Keep it in a tiny jar in your kitchen or bedroom (windowsill, counter top, table) and water it. It'll only grow to be as big as it's space allows.

3) Be sure to use it. If its an herbal plant, add it to a recipe. If its just for looks, smell it or note its color changes. Read about its health benefits and what your plant is good for. This will allow your appreciation for it to grow, helping your bond with gardening or green thumbing to 'sprout' (eh? eh?) 

4) Never neglect it. 

So what do you say? Go grow something! 

Why don't you try it?- First Edition

So, this is a blog that I really enjoy reading! She has so many amazing and creative ideas, and she does an amazing job at making her instructions easy to follow. Her tutorials are filled with detailed direction and pictures of each and every step to a project.

Just to show you... I am a beginner at sewing, sewing machines, and the two together, but for my very FIRST project, I decided I would test the waters with a pretty hard project - outdoor patio furniture cushions for my mom! They weren't a joke... they had piping which meant like, quadruple the seams they normally would have had, which meant more calculations and more materials to potentially cause a disaster! But I was determined that I could follow her extremely simple tutorial on how to make a bench cushion.

Here are the results of the chair cushions I made using the same measurement system:

Trust me, if I can do it, you definitely can too! 

If you're like me, and you have a desire to create or start creating, the best way to do it is to just do it! Get your hands dirty... come up with an idea and just try your best. If it doesn't turn out, how much are you really out? 

This brings us to my first ''Why don't you try it?''! 

I want you to find something to recreate, up cycle, build, refinish, or do anything to. Then I want you to tell us what you made and show us how you did it! From start to finish take a lot of pictures. We'd love to see your creation! 

And for any who have done this before or been doing this, prettyhandygirl has an awesome way for you to get noticed and to inspire others to get creative. 

Have fun, and go do something!