DIY Signs!

Hey all! I know it's been FOREVER since I've blogged...but recently I've been crafting my brains out, so I figured I'd share what I've been up to!


For today: DIY wood signs.


What you'll need:
wood
paint
printer
ribbon, copper wire, etc (sometime to hang it with)


First, find a piece of scrap wood. I got lucky in that my work has scrap wood everywhere! Paint the wood whatever color you want. 


TIP: If you go to Home Depot, they have what's called "oops" paint for SUPER cheap. It's just paint that didn't come out to the color that the person wanted. I found this green for only $0.50!!


Next, decide what word you want to put on your sign. For this one, I was making a gift for Ryan's step-mom, Lynne. Everyone calls her Bunny. Bunny and Ryan's dad feed raccoons outside their house every night...more like the raccoons started eating their cat food and so they just kept refilling it! So for Lynne's birthday I wanted to make her something super special and personal. So I came up with the idea of making a sign that said "Bunny's Bistro" with a picture of a raccoon on it. 


Open a word document and add in word art. Type whatever you want your sign to say, play with the font and the size until it's perfect. Next, click on the "draw" menu in your tool bar and click "rotate or flip" and then "flip horizontal". This will make your word print backwards.


Cut out around the word and place ink down on your painted wood. With a wet paint brush, wet down the paper with your word on it until it sticks, like so:

Using the back of a marker or a paint brush, press down on the letters to push the ink onto the wood. Don't peel it back until you're done with all the letters! (The B has been pressed in this picture).


It should look like this:

Next, use a small paint brush to fill in the letters. For the raccoon in the corner, I printed a picture off of Google images, cut it out, traced it onto the sign, and the eyeballed the rest.


(This sign started off way too big, so I had someone help me cut it).


For this sign I used ribbon to hang it. Just drilled two holes in the top and looped the ribbon through!

Done! It was so easy! And Lynne LOVED it! So much, that instead of hanging it outside, she wanted it in her kitchen:

It was so much fun making something so personal for someone! And the whole thing cost me under $5.00! I definitely plan on making more signs in the future....enjoy!

Near death experience...

I ran two miles today.

Yup. That was my near death experience. Lemme explain....

So Ryan and I signed up with some friends to do this race called Tough Mudder. It's TEN MILES through all kinds of crazy obstacles, including: crawling through tunnels, jumping over logs, climbing cargo nets, jumping over fire, and running through a field of live electrical wires.

I know, right?! Ten miles!! Though I have always been athletic, I have NEVER been good at running. My best mile time EVER was like 8 minutes and 30 seconds in high school (after volleyball conditioning all summer long). I get winded super fast, my shins and knees hurt, my feet throb, my side cramps....it's just never a good experience.

Tough Mudder is in 3.5 months! I need to get my ass in shape! GAH!

So, as of June 1st (today), I plan on running every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Today was day 1. I ran two miles in 20 minutes and 52 seconds, without even stopping to rest or walk! I feel pretty good about that. However, we shall see how I feel tomorrow morning. (ps last time I ran at all was months ago). I will update you all on my progress!

Goal for the next two weeks: run three days a week, no excuses. After that I'll start shooting for increased distances and decreased mile times. Oh, and I might as well try to drop 8-10 pounds while I'm at it!

Chalkboard door!

While Ryan and I were up in Bend a few weeks ago, we stumbled upon the idea of a chalkboard door!

The door that leads to the garage is right smack dab in the middle of our kitchen. It's kind of an awkward set up, and looked even more awkward because the door was an off-white, but a different off white than our cabinets. See:

So we went into Home Depot and picked up some chalkboard paint.

$8 per can.

While we were there we also saw magnetic primer! Paint a few coats on and wa-la! Magnetic door!

$22 per can. More than enough to apply three coats to our door.

So now we have a:

Looks way better, huh? And just think of the possibilities!! We can do menus, recipes, notes to each other (like: "Hey Kevin, I get home at 2:00 today...bake me some cookies). We can make brackets for tournaments, decorate for any occasion, or root on our favorite team!

What else is there to do with chalkboard paint?
Here are some other ideas that I love:

Pizza Fest '11

For lent, Sloaney decided it'd be a good idea to give up pizza (horrible idea if you ask me). Somehow he survived the forty or so days without eating a single slice. Kudos for the commitment, and an "I'm crazy" sticker for giving up pizza in the first place.

In celebration of the end of his pizzalessness, we started an annual tradition: Pizza Fest.

We ordered three different pizzas from three different pizza joints and ate to our heart's content.

Check it out:

Before:

(Round Table, Zachary's, Mountain Mike's)

After:

I know I let the team down by only eating five pieces....but next year I will train for it! There will be no leftovers next time!!!!!

two weeks of Salem in two days

Spring break was awesome!! Ryan, the puppies and I spent a few days out in Sunriver relaxing, hiking, fishing, snowboarding, watching movies, and eating and drinking way too much.

We weren't planning on going to Salem, but decided that there were so many people we wanted to see that we should just go. We drove over on Friday morning and stayed there til Sunday morning....and holy crap did we have a busy weekend!! Lemme break it down for ya.

Friday:

Arrive in Salem around 1:30 pm.

Lunch @ Paddington's Pizza (I almost forgot how delicious that place is!!!)

Dog park (where Ryan and I met)

Ate some Barney's Blackout cake from Konditorei (TO DIE FOR)

Visited my parents house to surprise the kids, Jeff, and my Dad

Dinner at Best Little Roadhouse with Matt and Tara Costanzo

Visited Ryan's friends Nye, Kathy and their daughter Sam, who loves me, obviously:

Around 9:00 pm, we headed to Applebee's for some half price apps and cheap drinks with Kevin, Nicole, Kaela, Alicia, Edwin, and Levi.

Went to Chiam's Karaoke bar with everyone, plus met my friend Becca there (Ryan rocked everything he sang, creepy homeless man called me "immaculate", Kaela drank too much, annnnnd Alicia "seduced" me)

Saturday:

Starbucks

Costco

Downtown Salem

Jeff's spring scrimmage (kid is a BEAST)

Fred Meyer (miss this store)

Parents' house for dinner with the grandparents (my dad makes the BEST monster burgers!)

Red Lion lounge with Kim, Tom, Elysia, Chad and Keoni for Keoni's 21er!

Sunday:

Ryan woke me up at the ass crack of dawn.

Drove to Eugene to have breakfast with his sister and bro-in-law.

Made the drive to California.

As soon as we got to California:

We stopped in Weed to get lunch and the chick that was working at Subway looked at me and goes: "What can I get for you, sir?" TIME OUT: "SIR" Are you kidding me? C'mon! Major shot to the self esteem.

But Ryan made it all better by getting his head pooped on by a bird as he was getting in the car!! LOL.

Welcome back to reality indeed!!



hello spring break!!

Despite spring break starting today, this week has totally flown by! Actually, I feel like this whole semester has gone way too quick...I can't believe it's mid-April already! <the only reason I'm complaining is because I have a huge paper due in a month that I've barely started....ooooooppppppssss>

So Ryan and I are trying to do something fun together at least once a month. Living with three other guys <his nephew Jason is most likely moving in with us too> really emphasizes the need for alone time for the two of us. Last Friday, I cashed in on my Valentine's Day gift, which was two tickets to see David Wilcox. Haven't heard of him? Check him out! This is my favorite song of his: Eye of the Hurricane 

We kinda get a double whammy for April. Since it's spring break, Ryan and I are going up to Sunriver for a week! We're leaving on either Saturday or Sunday and I am pumped! Plan for the week: stay up too late, drink too much, do a puzzle or two, shoot some pool, hike, fish a little, cook, play games, snowboard, eat too many s'mores, play with the pups, and just enjoy an entire week to ourselves.

Me and Chuckles on our first trip to Sunriver

In May, Ryan and I are going to Disneyland! <which will be me cashing in on my birthday present> We're going for three days on the weekend after I get out of school. I hardly remember the last time I was there...I think I was like ten. I'm so excited!

So, what to do for June, July, and August?? We're hoping to spend at least a week in Boise this summer, but other than that, we really don't have anything planned. Ideas?

Sidenote:

I am still completely bummed that Pia went home on American Idol last week!!!! She was so much better than anyone else there....and now I have no idea who will win. And frankly, I don't feel like many of the remaining contestants have a legitimate shot at being successful after Idol.

And what is with the judges??? All they ever do is compliment everyone, regardless of their performance. And if they do have critiques, they completely contradict themselves with compliments. It's confusing. I record the show so I can fast forward through commercials, and it's getting to the point where I skip the judges' comments too....I miss Simon, like, badly.

Here's what I think:

Lauren: good, but insecure and therefore boring to watch.

Casey: good some of the time, but I thought last night's performance was weird, not standing ovation worthy.

Haley: love her! The past three weeks she's been my favorite...I loved her performance last night, but the judges didn't seem to. Are we watching the same show??

James: love him. He'll be a star regardless of the show. James for the win!

Jacob: totally over him. His voice and range are impressive...but he is boring as hell and at this point, overly corny and annoying!

Paul: good voice, weird dude, weird performer. buh bye.

Scotty: WTF is with the way he holds the microphone?? Is he a flute player? And then the gangster signs he throws up in the middle of a George Straight song...huh? He's got a great voice for country, but I'm tired of all of his performances being mediocre karaoke country.

Stephano: always forget about this kid...that says it all.

Anyways, that's my rant on American Idol. Bottom three: Stephano, Paul and Haley...my guess is Paul will be packin!



Red Velvet Cupcakes

This is honestly the best red velvet recipe that I've found. It's so dense and moist and just freaking delicious. This recipe can be used to make cupcakes or a cake! The cream cheese frosting recipe goes great with red velvet, but it's also a great recipe to have around to frost something else!

Cupcakes:

In a small bowl combine:

2 1/2 cups flour
3 Tablespoons cocoa
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
pinch of salt

In a larger bowl combine:

1 1/2 cups granulate sugar
6 Tablespoons butter, softened
2 eggs <add one at a time, beat well in between>

Add flour mixture and 1 1/4 cups buttermilk to sugar mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture.

Next add:
1 1/2 teaspoons white vinegar
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

To get the red color add red food coloring. It takes anywhere from 2 Tablespoons to 4 or 5 Tablespoons, depending on how red you want them. The more you add, the brighter the red!

Line muffin tin with paper (or foil) baking cups.
Bake at 350 for 17-20 minutes.
<I always set my timer for the lowest amount of time. When it goes off I stick a fork in the middle cupcake and if it comes out clean then they're done!>

Allow them to cool on wire racks.


Frosting:

In a medium bowl beat:
5 Tablespoons butter, softened
4 Tablespoons buttermilk
1 (8 oz) block of cream cheese, softened

Beat well, then add:
3 1/2 cups powdered sugar (about a pound)
1 1/4 teaspoons vanilla

If the frosting is too thick, add a little bit of buttermilk. If the frosting is too thin, add more powdered sugar!

The best way to frost the cupcakes is to spoon all of the frosting into a ziploc bag. Cut off one of the corners and squeeze the frosting onto the cupcake in a circle, starting on the outside and ending in the middle so you get a nice little peak like so:

The recipe makes 24 cupcakes, and there is more than enough frosting, so be generous!

ENJOY!

And let me know how they turned out :^)

My crew

I've decided that a blog about my life outta be fun. I feel that before I can properly tell tales of what happens in the Weisenhaus/McGraw/Sloan household, I should introduce you to my crew.

Let's start with me:

  

Name: Leslie Weisenhaus

Facts:
-I work at Sports Basement in Walnut Creek and am a junior at Saint Mary's College.

-I am deathly afraid of spiders. It's not the cute kind of being afraid where I squeal and run away. It's the kind of fear where I stop breathing and then pass out.

-I could easily eat a whole pizza...and it seems that this is common knowledge in the house already.

-I love to clean and I love to bake!

-I am really bad when it comes to fashion...I want to be good, but damn, it takes way too much effort!

The Boyfriend

Name: Ryan McGraw

Facts:

-He works as an attorney for a wind energy company.

-He wakes up at freaking 4:30 AM EVERY morning to go to the gym. Crazy dedicated.

-He plays guitar and sings (LOVE this about him)

-He is obsessed with this stupid freaking mullet wig, which I cannot stand. He's such a good looking guy, but as soon as that wig is on he's slightly repulsive. See?

Us:

We met in January of 2009, at Minto Brown aka the dog park. After chatting for an hour, he asked for my number and I gave it to him. He texted me that night saying: "Hey! This is Ryan from the dog park. Are you 21? If so, we should grab a drink, if not, coffee maybe?" To which I replied: "I'm only 20, and I don't like coffee, but I do love chai tea!" A week later we decided to meet up at the dog park. It was freezing cold outside, and he totally won me over by bringing me a hot chai :^)

Nine months later he took a job down here in California while I stayed in Oregon to go to Willamette. It only took a week for me to find out that I didn't want to do the long distance thing for 2+ years. At the end of the school year, I packed up my car and moved down to sunny California!

Since then, we've moved around a bunch and have finally bought and settled into an awesome house in Concord. It's a three bedroom, two bathroom house with a nice sized backyard. Our puppies seem to love it here as much as we do! We moved in in Janurary, Kevin moved in in March and Sloaney moved in last week!

The Puppies

(yes, they come before the boys, muah ha ha)

Freaking adorable, right??

<These two are the reason that Ryan and I are together.>

Name: Josie (left)

Age: 7

Facts:

-She has written her own book. Don't believe me? Check it out:

http://www.anightinthewoods.com/

-She is the boss in the house. The boss, the princess, the dominant one, whatever you want to call it, this kid runs the place.

Name: Charlie (right)

Age: 2

-He is a pure-bred black lab, yet is super mellow and unathletic.

-Sometimes he eats things that he shouldn't: cameras, garbage, beer cans, Rolos, etc.

The Bro:

Name: Kevin Weisenhaus

Status: single

Facts:

-Kevin has started brewing his own beer, which is pretty freakin awesome!

-He's stupid strong and could easily break someone's hand just by squeezing it.

-His love for cooking plus my love for baking will make us all obese.

-He has a man crush on Ryan.

 

The Boyfriend's Best Friend:

Name: Dave Sloan, aka Sloaney (sometimes I forget his first name)

Facts:

-He works as a fly fishing guide.

-Anytime that him and Ryan are together there is a lot of drinking, nipple twisting and wrestling.

-He also has a man crush on Ryan.

Alrighty, there ya go. Nothing too exciting so far, but just a little background info on the household inhabitants.

Huh? What's a blog?

Alrighty. So, I have to admit: I know nothing about blogging. I am incredibly confused about all of these settings and options and what not. Ah well. I'm sure I'll learn as time goes on, right??

Ok, so what's the point of this blog?

To be honest, I'm not sure yet!

Idea #1: As many of you know, I moved to California almost a year ago (for real?!) and most of my family and friends are back up in Oregon. So idea= use this as a journal to update people on my life. Eh?

Idea #2: Ryan and I bought a house in January. Since then, we've had my older brother move into our garage, and just last week Ryan's best friend Sloaney moved into our extra bedroom. Plus, we have two (freaking adorable) dogs. Needless to say, there are plenty of funny times to share. So idea= write down all of the craziness that goes on around here...mostly to give people something to read when they're bored and on facebook at 2 am.

Idea #3: I LOVE to bake. And eat the deliciousness that I bake. So idea= baking blog? Sharing recipes and things that I've made.

So there you have it, my first blog about blogging. Whacha think? #1, #2, #3 orrrr all of the above?