I have been smoothie-curious for a while and keep talking about how I’m gonna make smoothies all the time. I like eating veggies, and I like eating kale. My go-to breakfast is a toasted PB&J sandwich, cuz it’s fast and easy, but eating a PB&J a day is probably not that great for you. I will look at people’s smoothie photos on Instagram and think Hey, that looks healthy and delicious and fresh! BUT …. if you know me at all, or if you have read my blog for some time, you know that I am NO WIZ in the kitchen, and lots of food-prep-related things are really not my forte. There are things I can do, and things I can’t do, and preparing food is kinda on the “can’t do very well” list. Luckily, I’m not a super-picky eater, so even if I make something that’s 75% nasty, I’ll probably still eat it anyway.

My mom got me a small/personal blender/smoothie-maker thing for my birthday, and this really sent me over the “you must try to make smoothies” precipice. Part of my anxiety about smoothie-making was Will I get the right consistency? Will I make something that tastes nastier than nasty? Will I break the smoothie-maker? Is it too annoying to wash all those dishes?

Here’s what I put into my very first inaugural smoothie: frozen strawberries, rolled oats, half a banana, 1 big kale leaf with the ribs torn out, chia seeds, and vanilla coconut drink. I zapped this concoction around in my blender, playing with low and high speeds and the pulse function, and like, nothing was blending. I went to Instagram to ask for help, and as it turned out, I simply didn’t have enough liquid in there, so I poured in more coconut drink and also like half a cup of plain water. Things really started to whizz around at that point!

Ok ok ok. I know it looks like barf. It had sort of a light brown color and LOTS of green bits in it. Further google-searching has led me to believe that my blender may not be high powered or fancy enough to blend green bits perfectly smooth. Luckily, this falls under the “75% nasty” umbrella, and I can handle chewing through my smoothie a little bit. The flavor was fine, but maybe just a smidge too tart because of all the berries and no sweetener aside from the banana and the sweetener in my coconut milk/drink. The smoothie did end up runnier than I imagined in my head, and I repeated the same mistake the next day. Oh well!

This was today’s smoothie: some ice cubes, a banana, rolled oats, 2 TSP of PB2, 2 TSP of cocoa powder, chia seeds, a handful of frozen blueberries, coconut drank, and water.

As I mentioned above, it ended up runnier than I would want, but maybe this is just what smoothies are like!? I dunno. I’ll try to add less water, but I know if I don’t add enough, things just won’t blend at all. I am sure I will figure it out eventually! The flavor of this smoothie was interesting. I felt like it had kind of like, a fake sugar taste to it, which I couldn’t figure out. It might be my coconut drink, since I haven’t actually tasted it on its own yet, but it has cane sugar and no artificial sweeteners, so I’ll just blame the blueberries cuz I don’t usually eat blueberries… Also, I added honey afterward because it wasn’t sweet enough for me, probably due to adding too much water.

Anyway, those are my smoothie adventures so far! If you have favorite recipes, I’m happy to hear them! BTW, this is the blender that my mom got me. This is not a full endorsement, as I am sure there are better blenders out there, but this is the one I got! I like that you only have to clean two pieces (the cup and the blender-blade thingie), and it comes with a travel lid, so you can zap your breakfast and then take it in a car with you. All I need now is a washable/reusable straw!

It was my birthday on Wednesday, and it seemed like a really great time to share my cupcake/mini-cake hair clip pattern with you guys! I designed these little cakes to be somewhat short and low profile, so that they look good as a hair accessory. The best part of all is that you can use real cupcake toppers to decorate your mini cakes, which gives you tons of options for gifts and holiday outfits!

The video tutorial is also up  on my YouTube channel! The typed-out pattern is below. For a printer-friendly PDF with more how-to photos, please check out the pattern in my Etsy shop!

(Previously posted at Michaels.com)

My Halloween memories are filled with carving jack-o-lanterns and creating DIY costumes, but my number one most favorite part about Halloween is the candy! Now you can make and trade these fun candy-bar inspired crochet clutch purses. Pick your favorite candy-wrapper colors and personalize your clutch with felt lettering. Stash your keys, phone, and small items when you go out, or put your clutch in a larger bag to keep your makeup, snacks, pencils, or crochet hooks safe. This project is so easy, you’ll have a delicious collection of candy bar clutches in no time!

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(Previously posted at Michaels.com)
 Some of my favorite back-to-school memories involve decorating and organizing my binders. Now you can take your old, beat-up binders and give them a creative, colorful makeover with this crocheted Strawberry Cake Binder Cozy. I used my favorite color: pink! But you can choose your own favorite colors and flavors, too. The binder I cover in this project is 1 inch thick, but you can easily add extra stitches to your rows for thicker binders. The cozy is removable as well, so you can wash it!

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There’s no rest for the wicked! I’ll be vending at Crafty Bastards in Washington DC at Union Market! The fair is two days, September 27 and 28, and I will be there ONLY Saturday. JUST SATURDAY!!! So if you East Coasters want to say hi, and I hope you do, please remember I’ll only be there for one day. I wanted to have another day to be a touron!

Tickets are on sale now for a reduced price, $5 for one day and $8 for 2 days.

See you there!!!!! What do you think the weather will be like? What do you think I should bring to sell at my booth? I haven’t been to DC since 6th grade!!

(omg I wish I had a photo to post here, but they are all at my parents’ house, if they exist!)