Fall wreath

I'm happy with my first DIY wreath. I went to Michaels and purchased everything for under $10. Wow, DIY is so much cheaper than buying an already made wreath. I love the way it turned out.

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$25 Target gift certificate!!! Go check it out at Every New Beginning's blog!!

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Before and After

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This is my very FIRST furniture project I have made and I am very pleased with the outcome. My grandmother handed me down this piece of furniture when my husband and I moved into our apartment. I was inspired by photos pinned on pinterest and I was determined to accomplish a refurbished piece of furniture on my own. This project was also part of my 101 in 1001 goal, I got one down and two more to go. These are the steps I took:

1. I took out the drawers and unscrewed the knobs/pulls.  The drawers had two holes from each pull (totaling 4 holes on each drawer) and I only filled one hole on each side with Elmer’s Wood Filler (leaving a total of 2 holes on each drawer). I then sanded the entire piece until I couldn’t see the surface shine anymore. I used a roll-on brush. I then grabbed a wet cloth and cleaned/dusted the furniture. (1st day)

2. The very next day I primed the entire furniture. I quickly went over everything with one coat and didn’t care much if there were streaks on it or not. Let it dry for 24 hours.  (2nd day)

3. On the third day, I sanded the entire piece once more and cleaned it with a wet cloth. (3rd day)

4. I added a second coat of primer the next day and let it dry 24 hours. (4th day)

5. With the roll-on brush, I painted the entire piece with Burnt Red Olympic color paint. I only applied one coat. Yes, you could still see the primer a bit. Let it dry for 24 hours. (5th day)

6. I applied a second coat of the colored paint. I made sure I used a thin layer of paint on all of my coats, I noticed the thicker I used the more clumps you could see. Let it dry for 24 hours. (6th day)

7. On the next day I sanded the entire piece and cleaned with a wet cloth. Let it dry. (7th day)

8. I applied a third thin coat of colored paint. Let it dry for 24 hours. (8th day)

9. Apply a fourth thin coat of colored paint. Let it dry for 24 hours. (9th day)

10. I actually let the entire piece dry for 3 days before I installed the new knobs/pulls. (10th day)

This project took me an entire month to complete because of the drying time. I wanted it to be perfect so I HAD to be very patient, which was extremely hard.

Lomo Saltado Chicken

 
My mother is a wonderful cook and she makes the most delicious Peruvian dish that just wants to make you lick every bit off of your plate. Just follow the recipe and its easy as 1 2 3…
Grab your ingredients

Lomo Saltado Ingredients
3 Whole Chicken Breast
1 red bell pepper
2 small tomatoes
3 medium potatoes (not shown above)
1/2 large red onion
1 bunch cilantro, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped (I use the one that comes chopped already in a jar)
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon ground cumin

Salsa
6 large limes
1/4 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
1/4 white vinegar
1/4 canola oil
1/2 large red onion, thinly sliced
1 habanero pepper, finely chopped
pinch of salt and pepper

Rice
1 1/2 cup of rice
3 cups water
1/2 medium white onion, finely chopped
1 bunch cilantro, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
3 teaspoons chicken bullion
1 teaspoon canola oil

For the Lomo

 

Peel and chop up the potatoes into a french fry cut. In a large pot put a good amount of canola oil to fry the potatoes. While the potatoes are being fried, chop up the chicken into cubes and chop  up the red onion, bell pepper,cilantro and tomatoes.

Mix the chicken, garlic, ground cumin thoroughly to get an even spread.

Cook chicken until white.

Pour soy sauce in, cover and let it simmer for about 5 minutes.

Add the bell pepper, cilantro, tomatoes and red onion into the chicken. Mix well. Cover and let the steam cook the veggies.

While the veggies are being steamed, check on your potatoes and take them out once they are crispy.

For the Salsa

Finely chop the habanero pepper and thinly slice the red onion. Mix.

Squeeze the limes into the bowl with  red onions and habanero peppers. Mix.

Add the balsamic vinegar, white vinegar, canola oil and salt-n-pepper. Mix.

For the Rice

I have a rice cooker that does ALL the work for me. I simply mix the white onions and cilantro with a bit of oil, let it fry for a minute or two. I then add the rice and mix. Then add the water, garlic salt and chicken bullion and mix. Cover and cook, once it’s done the rice cooker button will pop up and it’s ready.

Food is ready to be served, I love to pour my salsa into my rice. Don’t forget to add the french fries over the lomo.

Enjoy!!!