Chandeliers Craze Closure...

FINALLY FINISHED!!

What kept me from finishing was having to make the decision on how I wanted to place the "strings" connecting all the jewels on the chandelier. Basically, I didn't want to make any decisions. The joy of painting turned into a giant headache brought on by my Type A personality mixed with my perfectionist nature.

Just Breathe, Megan.

I am satisfied with the painting, after thinking about painting over it about 57 times.

Now where to hang it?

Over my bed would be a good solid wall, but my walls are basically a lighter shade of the turquoise color I used for the background of the picture, and it may be too much blue in my room.

Truffled Mac and Cheese

White Truffled Mac & Cheese

Ingredients

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

Good olive oil

Kosher salt

1 pound pasta, such as cavatappi

3 ounces white truffle butter (I made my own)

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1 quart whole milk, scalded

12 ounces Gruyere cheese, grated (4 cups)

8 ounces extra-sharp Cheddar, grated (2 1/2 to 3 cups)

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

2 garlic cloves, chopped

1/2 cup chopped fresh herbs (equal parts rosemary, thyme and basil)

1 1/2 cups Japanese bread crumbs (panko)

Truffled Butter is really easy to make. Buy some white truffle oil and a stick of non salted butter. Soften the butter and add oil (I poured for 4 seconds). Add salt to taste and stir...voila! Truffled Butter!

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add a splash of olive oil and a pinch of salt. Add the pasta and cook for 6 to 8 minutes, until al dente. Drain well.

Meanwhile, melt the truffle butter in a large (4-quart) saucepan and whisk in the flour. Cook for 2 minutes over low heat, stirring constantly with a whisk. Slowly whisk in the hot milk and cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until the white sauce is thickened and creamy.

Off the heat, add the Gruyere, Cheddar, 1 1/2 tablespoons salt, the pepper, and nutmeg.

Combine the pasta and sauce in a large bowl and pour them into a 10 by 13 by 2-inch baking dish.

Place the garlic and parsley in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade and pulse until they're minced. Add the bread crumbs and pulse to combine. Sprinkle the crumbs over the pasta and bake for 35 to 45 minutes, until the sauce is bubbly and the crumbs are golden brown.

Serve hot.

Bon Appetit!

Mothers day painting

So I decided since I have no money and an extra canvas I would paint my mother some art. After thinking long and hard about what EXACTLY to paint her, i decided to go with a painting that incorporated a lot of things that had grave importance to her...so renaissance of me (it is one of my absolute passions to learn about art and what the artist ment when putting something in a piece..brillant!). So I decided to go with a piece of art I saw in Key West by my most FAVORITE modern artist Michael Gorban who is absolutely incredible and is known for having a little marble in every thing he paints (i just thought that was cool).

Anyways....

So there was a particular painting of his I used as an inspiration (i stress USED AS AN INSPIRATION) in figuring out how to incorporate all these symbolic elements without it looking like clutter...I stress my painting was just inspired and looked nothing like his...i wish it had...

A window.

A perfect way to show all my symbols, considering they are all outside items.

Before I get ahead of myself, these are the items i decided to use

Cardinal ~ my great grandmother. She told my mom, "whenever you see a cardinal, know that is me watching you)
Roses ~ my grandmother. She loved flowers, especially roses and spent all of her free time tending to her rose garden in clearwater.
Gardenia ~ my mother. We always have had a gardenia plant at our houses and she would pick one or two when they bloomed and put them in our house.
A waterford vase ~ She had one which broke and I remember thinking how regal we were when the sun hit it and it sparkled. She loved it.
SeaShells ~ She is from Clearwater Beach and all of our happiest memories with my grandmother were there. When she is cremated she wants to be sprinkled there.

Jasmine ~ me. They are one of my favorite flowers.

I also wanted there to be a sunset, because we always watched the sunset at clearwater beach...something that spoiled us west coast floridians. Still trying to figure out how to make it

work properly...

Anyways the gist of it is all of this is my great grandma, grandma and me always watching in on my mother and being apart of nature and her never having to feel alone. The seashells are supposed to be a "home" symbol that where ever you live, you can easily make it your home. There is also silver on the clouds, to always look for the silver lining in life...

.

Ok please dont judge too harshly. I love most of it when I drew it out and the painting part didnt come out as expected. I love the gardenias in the vase.

I'm a true artist now...

In true artist form I have abandoned my Chandelier painting, but only temporarily, to paint a picture for my mother for mothers day. This will be my first piece that employs real symbolism and a deco-page of items...I can not say what the items are, but a hint is that I will be painting flowers for the first time...wish me luck!

Apparently I am a Pisces...

Sign compatibility depends what zodiac sign Venus was in when you were born.... therefore I am a Pisces. This is quite funny because everyone always thinks I'm a Pisces, based on how much I love water and fish. Anyways, this is what the Find your Venus Sign website said about me...I took the time to bold the right-on points.

When your Venus is in Pisces, you love tenderly and compassionately. You are a peace-maker at heart, and your sensors are so strong that you pick up as much as possible, and perhaps more, from your partner. You have a sense of humor in love, although you have your shares of ups and downs, as you are a very sensitive person. Harshness bothers you. Wistfulness is almost as natural to you as breathing when it comes to love. No matter how you approach other areas of your life, there is a romantic side of you. You crave making a connection with a person—many would call it a deep connection, but spiritual is a better word, as your ideal love rises above rather than plunges below the mundane world.

You can be devastatingly attractive to some people, and your charm is of a tender and soft quality. Others sense your warmth, but also some elusiveness. As much as you want to connect and share with another person, you also resist being pinned down. You prefer to enjoy a certain amount of freedom to act on your feelings, rather than through schedules or impositions. Sometimes you attach yourself to people because you have a hard time saying "no". However, you also have a hard time pretending for any length of time. Your exit from a relationship may not always be direct and quick. You are not always comfortable with being direct, simply because you don't like hurting people's feelings.

You can sometimes seem like a chameleon in your relationships. People who share time with you, if they were to exchange notes about you, would likely have a very different impression of you. You can seem like a completely different person with different people--not because you have a weak character. Because you are an emotional sponge, you pick up the needs of those around you. Your adaptability comes from a lack of personal boundaries in matters of the heart. Pisces is the last sign of the zodiac, and it carries with it each and every sign. This explains, to a degree, your ability to slip into anyone's shoes without so much as a blink. So, with Venus, the planet of love and relationship, in Pisces, it is easy for you to pick up the needs of your partner and even adopt those needs as your own. Where do your needs start and end? It can be hard for you to distinguish what it is that you want because you very spontaneously and naturally soak in the needs and wants of a partner.

You have an amazing capacity to understand people and to forgive. Just as you resist being pinned down to an absolute, a schedule, or a concrete definition, you also have a hard time drawing boundaries. In the process, however, you open yourself up to challenging situations and relationships. It is difficult for you to pass judgment on anyone in an absolute sense, as you have compassion for human failings, but sometimes it is the only way to close yourself off from a bad situation. Don't let others take advantage of your hospitality and empathy. Anyone who sees these traits as signs of weakness is likely preying on them! The right lover for you will recognize your kindness and your willingness to slip into someone's shoes as signs of strength! When that special someone has touched your heart, they are rewarded with a funny, sometimes kooky, and always tender-hearted lover. The right person for you will find you absolutely delightful, intriguingly changeable, and a treasure indeed.

Ok so i wanted to highlight pretty much the whole damn thing. It is scary how completely right this description is for me. It is also weird that I have always felt my Capricorn reading is not accurate for me...

Anyways, I went to see my grandfather today because he has every so graciously offered to foot the bill for my PRIVATE PILOTS LICENSE! Yes, I could be Megan, the pilot, soon! I sat in the 2 different planes today, a high winged and a low winged (oh i sound soooo like a pilot already) and it was explained to me that IF I could not see over the dash, the have cushions to sit on. The guy wanted to say "when," I just know it! My grandfather was intrigued that I started painting, because my grandmother was an amazing artist. I tried to thoroughly explain I was NOT an artist, just a hobbiest, but I'm sure he will still tell everyone that I am an artist now.

Balls.

If I do decide to go pilot, it will be a 143.8 mile commute to and from the school. Whoa.

On the long journey home today, I will admit I was in a piss poor I'm-a-girl-and-it's-that-time-of-the-month-so-i-can-have-an-attitude-and-road-rage type mood in the torrential downpour rain and was contemplating whether my mood was mimicking the weather or was the weather mimicking my mood. I am starting to really get in tuned with the universe (I am NOT a wicken) and realizing that the more positive I am, the more positive happens and the same with being negative and negative things happening. I don't think I am being "atheist" by saying that because I'm sure God (whoever she is) is just rewarding positivity with positive things. Isn't that what we try to teach our children these days? Positive reinforcement for doing well...

The universe, I think, is also beginning to send me DIRECT signs also. I listen to a chakra aligning CD in the car (don't judge, it calms me down) and all of a sudden felt a wave of

"I need to just go to my therapist and spill everything. God I wish I had more money so I could go all the time," thought followed by tears. When I looked at the track number, it was on the "communication chakra" track.

Ok universe.

Then as I sat in my apartment bitching about anything I could (did I mention my roommate is somewhat of an angel) I raced out and tried to get a soda, which just this morning I was thinking "never again will I drink a soda, I really don't need it. Rots your teeth," and when I put my dollar into the machine, low and behold all the soda was sold out, and the machine wouldn't give me my change back so my only option was bottled water.

I listening universe...

Was too tired to "create" anything tonight except for this blog. And yes, I am still in a crappy mood. Did I mention there was just a thunderstorm like 3 minutes ago?

Bruschetta

Bruschetta

Step 1

Ingredients:

Sour dough bread

Goat cheese-8oz

Cream cheese-4 oz

Chives

Balsamic Glaze

Bruschetta mix (this one is pre made from Target)

Slice up the bread and lightly toast them in the oven. I have it on 350 degrees for about 5 minutes.

While it is toasting, combine the goat cheese and cream cheese into a container. Get the chives out on a cutting board and chop them up. About 1/4 of a cup. Add the chives to the cheese mix and mix it all up to make a spread.

Take the bread out of the oven and spread a little bit of the cheese on them.

Put about a spoon full of the bruschetta mix top of the bread.

With the balsamic glaze, drizzle a little bit on top of each piece of bread.

Bon Appetit!

French toast

French Toast

Step one

Get all your ingredients together. Eggs, Cinnamon and bread are the basic ones. This time I tried using a little bit of vanilla extract also to add a little more sweetness. I also like to have some powdered or confectioners sugar around to sprinkle on top!

Step 2

Have the burner set to medium heat with a pan already sprayed with Pam.

Beat about 3 eggs in a container large enough to fit a piece of bread in. Add cinnamon and vanilla extract.

Take a piece of your already sliced bread and and put it into the container, making sure to saturate each side of the bread with the egg mixture.

Lay each slice of bread onto the pan and let it sit for a minute or two. Check the side and when the egg part is cooked, flip it over and cook the other side.

Remove from burner, put onto a plate and sprinkle powered sugar on top.

Bon Appetit!