Less Pinning, More Doing: Burlap Ruffle Wreath

Hi, my name is Queen Bee and I am a pinaholic.  Yes it is true, I admit it, I have an addiction and it is called Pinterest.  I've pinned way too many things that chances are I most likely will never ever make or do, but they're organized so lovely and easy to find.  Instead of jamming my computer with all sorts of never-to-be-made project ideas, its now on the internet!  Yippee!

My goal this week has been to do:

I didn't get off on the right foot seeing as I had a sick 18-month old Monkey who decided he needed to be held pretty much every waking minute of his day.  But today:

Can you believe it?  I hardly can.  After weeks of pinning, I've finally made my very first official project!  And its so lovely too.  The idea originated from Janet at Today's Fabulous Finds.  You can click over to her to get a more detailed view of the project.

I made a ruffly wreath made form burlap.  So cute.  This year for Christmas I'm in to rustic and glitter.  I'm not so sure how either one of those connects, but I'm trying my darnedest to some how make it all work.

Here she is:

For this one I used a green-tinted burlap, but I also made a traditionally brown burlap wreath as well.   Since I made the green one specifically for Christmas, I hung it from a big red frame I had (you might recognize it from the Willy Wonka party we had a few months back).

Here's a few tips I learned form doing this tutorial.

1. Foam rings are tricky.  You should be able to find them at your local dollar store, for none other than....a dollar!  Amazing.  If you're struggling to find them or your dollar store doesn't have them and you don't want to fork out like 6 bucks, try this technique.  I didn't do it for my first wreath, but did for my second.  I do recommend covering the entire thing in duct tape or else the pins will all pop out.
2. Like I said before, I used this tutorial, which was good, but I was just a little confused on how to pinch the burlap squares (I don't know why, I'm a little challenged at times!), so I made my own picts of it.  They may or may not be easier to understand.

Mediterranean Chicken

The first time I made this was when we were living in Palm Springs.  I was 8 months pregnant, had a tiny outdated kitchen, and humongous silver dollar-sized cockroaches (NOT exaggerating...ask my mom!) running around inside and out.  Not quite the best of memories (especially the time one ran across my back in the night...but that's a story for another time).  Every time I make this it brings me back to those good ol' days of living in the desert oasis we then called home.  Luckily I don't usually think of nasty gigantic bugs when I eat this, cuz its sweet and tasty (the chicken that is)!

• 1 cup oil-based Italian salad dressing
• 1 (6 oz) can frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts (about 4 oz each), pounded to 1/4" thickness (I usually forget this step)

Preheat grill (or stove...I usually don't grill this, just do it in a pan on the stove).  Blend salad dressing, orange juice concentrate and salt in a medium bowl.  Remove 1/3 of the marinade and reserve for basting.  Trim any fat from chicken; pierce with a fork.  Add chicken to marinade; turn to coat.  Remove chicken from marinade; drain well.  Discard marinade in bowl.  Brush grill rack with oil to prevent chicken from sticking.  Grill chicken, turning and basting frequently with reserved marinade, for about 15 minutes.

Good served with grilled vegetables or pasta.

Serves 4

Lemon Parmesan Linguine

I can't recall when I obtained this recipe, I just know it was one of the ones I found early in our marriage.  Its a great go-to recipe, since most everything is usually in my kitchen.  Its VERY easy and basically only takes as much time as it takes to cook the noodles (Since Marvel is allergic to wheat, I substitute the linguine for rice pasta. ).

• 8 oz Linguine, uncooked
• 3 Tbsp butter, melted
• 1 Tbsp lemon juice
• 1 1/2 tsp dried basil
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp lemon-pepper seasoning
• 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, grated

Cook linguine in boiling water for 8-10 minutes or until tender.  Meanwhile, in another saucepan, combine butter, lemon juice, basil, garlic powder, and lemon-pepper.  Cook and stir until butter is melted.  Drain linguine; add to butter mixture and toss to coat.  Add Parmesan cheese and toss.

Serves 4.