Sweat no more!

Hi friends!  I apologize for the delay in posting, I've been awfully lazy lately.

As many of you know I have been trying to incorporate running into my lifestyle.  I hate running, mainly because I hate sweating.  However, I've been trying the Couch to 5K running program and I've actually been enjoying it.  I'm on week 6 so give me 3 more weeks and I'll be a C25K winner! 

Since I hate sweating so much, I've always wanted one of those fancy schmancy tank tops that wick the sweat away.  They are rather pricey and since I don't want to spend money on something just to get it smelly and dirty, I decided to make one instead.  A few years ago, through work, I was given this polo shirt that's made from the sweat wicking material.   I hate polo shirts and only wear them when I have to.  Since I get a new polo every year, I figure that no one will be upset that I tweaked this one.

Beige polo, uninteresting...

I took a tank top that fits me well and measured how scooped the neckline is and how wide the straps are against the original polo.

My neckline was about 6in. deep

Using my measurements, I marked how low I wanted the neckline to go and how wide I wanted me straps to be.  I then cut around the collar of the shirt and scooped the neckline down to the mark I had made.  I cut the straps the be the width I wanted and extended the armholes out towards the original armholes so I cut off each sleeve completely.  I didn't really make this perfect, I just cut until it looked good.

My neckline scooped down to the last button

To finish, I folded the edges of my cuts under about 1/4" and pinned them in place and stitched them with coordinating thread.  Again, I didn't care too much about making it perfect.  I'm only going to be wearing this shirt for running and sweating so what do I care about perfection?

 The end result

So, it doesn't look fabulous, and it's not a flattering color or shape...but considering I run in grungy, ill-fitting t-shirts right now I'd say this is an improvement.  Hopefully it inspires me to run more!



And a big THANK YOU to Will, my RA who was my photographer this evening.  I doubt any of my students knew they'd be taking pictures while they're working the office!

Upcycled Shoes

As I was looking at a craft store this weekend, I realized that the amount of money I spend on craft supplies each month rivals the amount I spend on clothing.  I have a large amount of supplies already in my stash so I've decided I'm going to challenge myself to use only the supplies I already have in my apartment for the next month.  Hopefully I'll still have cute stuff to post!

So, I love ballet flats.  I wear them almost as often as I wear my heels and they are more comfortable and usually just as cute.  I have a lot of pairs of shoes, but, I still want more!  My favorite pair of shoes are ancient, disheveled, and my mother told me she would disown me if she ever saw me wearing them again (I think she was joking...) 

Yup, these shoes are in a sorry state

I love the pointy toe and these shoes are so comfy.  I decided to forgo buying new shoes and see if I could upcycle these instead.

Upcycled Shoes Materials:

Scissors

Acrylic Paint

Paint brushes

Mod Podge

Fabric Glue

These shoes are fabric covered  and had some spots that had holes.  I trimmed the fabric around the holes and covered the holes with a thin layer of fabric glue to keep the fabric from fraying more.  Then, I painted on my first layer of paint.  Because my shoes were a dark color and I was using white paint for a base color, I ended up painting two layers of my base color.

I was starting to worry these wouldn't turn out

I then took a stencil brush (a round, flat topped paint brush) and started stippling on my second color.  Basically, I wiped a lot of paint off my brush so it wasn't too runny and tapped the flat top of my brush against the shoe. 

I learned a lot from mom in her stenciling days

I kept tapping my brush all over the shoe in a crazy pattern.  I wasn't looking for perfection which made it a lot easier.  I decided halfway through that I didn't like the stark contrast between my top color and my base white color so I decided to smear the paint a little bit with a piece of cloth.  This made it look more like watercolor.

Way cuter than they were!

After I finished painting my top color and let them dry, I painted a thin layer of glossy Mod Podge (don't you love that stuff?) on top to make them shiny.  The acrylic paint made the shoes a little stiffer, but they look more like a faux leather now instead of fabric.  Yet, these are still a lot better than before, and I do believe mom would approve!

In the kitchen with Lindsey!

My friend Lindsey and I have come to the conclusion that we spend way too much money at restaurants.  So, in order to justify my most recent shopping spree at my favorite vintage store, I decided that she and I are going to cook together once a week.  I enjoy cooking, but I'm better at baking.  Cooking regularly might be a challenge!

For our first cooking adventure, we decided to make my favorite enchiladas.  We have dubbed them my magic enchiladas (not sure why, but they are delicious!)

Katie's Magic Enchiladas

Ingredients:
1 pkg. boneless skinless chicken breast
Frozen diced onions
1 can of Rotel (diced tomatoes and green chilies)
1 can of black beans
1 bottle of enchilada sauce (Ortega mild is my fave)
Flour tortillas
Cheddar cheese
Olive Oil

Cut your chicken into 1 in. pieces. 

Lindsey looking fab cutting the chicken!

Pour a little olive oil in the skillet and add about 2 tablespoons of diced onion.  I use the frozen kind, super cheap and lasts forever!  Saute them on medium heat until clear and fragrant.  Add the chicken and saute until no pink remains. 

Add the can of Rotel and stir (this helps de-glaze the pan and gets all the good flavor from the bottom.)  Drain the black beans and add the can as well.  Stir in about 1/2 cup of enchilada sauce.  Let the mixture simmer for 5-10 min. for all the flavors to kind of meld together.

Spray a casserole dish with non-stick cooking spray (or, you could use a little more olive oil.)  Take your flour tortilla and spoon some of the mixture into it.  Not too much, or it will overflow!

It should look something like this

Add some cheddar cheese then roll up the tortilla and place it seam side down in the casserole dish.  Fill the rest of your tortillas and line them up in the dish.  Squish them together if you have to, it's ok if stuff falls out a bit.  Take any of your left over mixture and spoon it on top of all the tortillas.  Drizzle some more enchilada sauce on top and sprinkle as much cheddar cheese as you'd like as well.

Bake at 350 degrees for 10-15min.  The cheese should be nice and gooey.

Enjoy!