Saturday Snapshot: Florida Sunrise

Boy, I miss the sunny warm weather!  And I'm not gonna lie, you'll probably see a couple more sunrise pictures featured on the Saturday Snapshot :)

Life Lately

Oh man, has it been an eventful month!  I started student teaching, wrecked my old car, got a new car, and turned 30.  Uffdah.

1) My brand new, 2014 Hyundai Elantra.
2) and 3) My poor, little Honda Civic...

1) Pretty tulips for spring
2) A birthday cupcake- one candle for each decade!
3) Birthday balloon for my granny, who turned 89!

So, my little Civic got wrecked when another driver ran a red light.  Everyone was fine, but I was pretty sad about the Honda, and I wasn't quite ready to get a new car.  But, I have to say that I LOVE my Hyundai Elantra!  I have Bluetooth, heated seats, a back-up camera, and lots of other bells and whistles!

My birthday was pretty nice, too.  I shared a celebration with my granny's 89th birthday the weekend before, and went out to dinner with John on the actual date.  I hope you all had great months!

Birthday Giveaway!

I'm 30 today. 30!  What?

Since it's my birthday, I wanted to have a giveaway.  And, since I've reached 100 followers on Facebook, I decided to double up!  I'm giving away two DIY kits for a few of the DIYs I've featured on the blog.

The first kit is so you can make your own spiked ring and includes:

• Gold polymer clay (so you can skip the spray painting step!)
• Ring blanks
• Super glue

The second kit relates to one of my top viewed pages of all time: DIY bird ornaments.  This kit includes:

• White Sculpey clay
• Rubber alphabet stamps
• Red pearl finish Martha Stewart paint
• Eye hooks (not pictured)
• Red ribbon

Since I'm hosting this giveaway all on my own, I'll have to limit entries to U.S. residents only.  (I'm sorry to my international readers- some day when my blog is huge or I'm extremely wealthy, I'll have a giveaway just for you!)

To enter, you can....

1. Follow this blog on Facebook
2. Follow @goeslightly on Instagram
3. Follow me with Google Friend Connect OR blog lovin'

Leave a separate comment for each of these entry options- you can have up to 3 entries!

The entries will close on April 20th, and I'll announce the winner April 22nd.  So, you've got almost a month to enter.  The first name generated by random.org will get to choose their kit first.  The second name generated will get the remaining kit.

Good luck! :)

This giveaway is now closed!

Saturday Snapshot: Coral

Wrapped Wire Necklace

Isn't this cute?  I'm so happy with how it turned out, and what I love best is how versatile this project is!  You can do pretty much any word and any color of wrapping.  I chose "love" in red :)

You will need:

• Jewelry wire (found at most craft stores)
• Embroidery floss
• Various pliers - needle nosed and round
• Wire cutters
• Scissors
• Chain
• Jump rings
• Clasp (optional)

First, work with your fingers and rounded pliers to shape the word you choose.  Do your best to finish the ends nicely, in a little tiny loop.  Then, cut off the excess wire.

Next, tie your embroidery floss at the start of the word.  Then, wrap, wrap, wrap until it's all covered up!

Tie a tiny knot at the end and snip off the extra embroidery floss.

Next, fasten one jump ring at each end of your word.  Leave the ring open, and attach your chain.  Close the jump ring with your needle nosed pliers.

Now, you can choose however long you want your necklace to be.  I wanted mine to be a little on the shorter side, so I had to add a clasp.  If your necklace is long enough, you won't need on.  But, if you're putting one in, simply snip the chain at the mid-way point and add on a jump ring on one end and your clasp on the other.  Close the jump rings and you're done!

This took me about an hour, and wire bending is NOT my strongest suit :)  I kind of want to make a whole stash of these necklaces...

What word would you make?

Beg, Borrow, Steal: Cauliflower "Pasta"

It's been a while since I had a "Beg, Borrow, Steal" post, but this recipe was too good to keep to myself!  It's no substitute for real pasta (which I love unconditionally), but it's a tasty meal for sure :)

You can check out the original recipe over at The Detoxinista.  The best part (besides how good it tastes) is the fact that it takes maybe 10 minutes total to make!  Super simple, totally doable.

Saturday Snapshot: Itsy Bitsy Spider

O'Henry Bars

This is a yummy recipe that I found in my granny's recipe box for some gooey, seriously addictive bars.

You will need:

• 4 cups oatmeal
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup shortening
• 1 cup white Karo syrup
• 1 large bag chocolate chips
• Crunchy peanut butter

Combine the oatmeal, brown sugar, shortening and syrup in a large bowl.  Mix well and press into a 9 x 13 pan.  Bake for 15 minutes at 350 degrees.

Allow the mix to cool completely.  Then, top with a thin layer of crunchy peanut butter.

Melt the chocolate chips in either a double boiler or the microwave.  If you use a microwave, use a large bowl and stir the chocolate every thirty seconds until it is smooth.

Pour and spread the chocolate on top of the bars.  Allow to cool, and then try not to eat them all in one sitting!

Fort Lauderdale Getaway

You may have noticed that my last Saturday Snapshot was a little more tropical than usual.  Well, that's because John and I managed to sneak in a short trip to Fort Lauderdale, Florida.  It was an amazing trip!  We got to lounge on the beach, snorkel, and eat some really great food :)

Here's some highlights from the trip:

Our first day on the beach

We went snorkeling with Sea Experience. It was so cool! We spotted two sting rays, a nurse shark, and so many beautiful fish.  It was amazing!

More beach photos.  I'm sorry, but palm trees just never get old.

These little guys were everywhere!  But they were hard to snap a picture of :)

The food!  Crab cake and heirloom tomato salad at Coconuts

Fresh made donuts, same place as above- yum!!

Key Biscayne

We got up early for sunrise on our last morning there

And you can expect a bunch more Saturday Snapshots featuring Florida photos :)

Saturday Snapshot: Sunny Palms

Homemade French Dressing

Oh my gosh, you guys!  This dressing is SO good!  And it's super easy!

Compliments of Granny, this recipe calls for:

• 1 cup olive oil
• 1/2 cup vinegar
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2/3 cup ketchup
• one small onion, grated

Combine all of the ingredients in a jar and shake it up! (I made a half batch because my jars weren't big enough)

For the smoothest results, use a micro plane grater for the onion

It is so good and perfect for garden salads!  Have you ever tried making homemade salad dressing?

March Book Club

It's my birthday month, guys!  I'm turning thirty... Wow.  And since I'm celebrating my birthday this month, I thought reading about women who turned some heads would be a good way to go :)

So, I've chosen Scandalous Women: The Lives and Loves of History's Most Notorious Women, by Elizabeth Kerri Mahon.  It features women including Cleopatra, Ida B. Wells-Barnett, and Gertrude Bell; and promises to be a fun read!

What are you reading this month?

Saturday Snapshot: Snowy Branches

Remember that blizzard I told you about?  Well, one thing I love about snow storms is that afterwards, the snow sticks to the branches and looks oh-so pretty!