Table for Eight

Janae's creation: thrift store plates, hardware from Amazon, a special drill bit, and I think a little special glue to secure. For today's post I wanted to share this awesome DYI project my friend Janae completed. (*I think she originally saw it on etsy?) Anyway, my point! Janae came across this cake/dessert stand online one day. And when she looked at the price, she decided they were insanely kinda pricey, so she did some research and figured she could make her own for a pretty affordable price. And that's exactly what she did.  With some help from her kiddos and next door neighbor--who is a jack-of-all-trades, s he found the hardware on Amazon, picked out old plates at thrift stores, and then bought a special drill bit that made it possible to drill through the plates without cracking them. (PS: She bought some extra plates for practice with the drilling part.)  Sidenote: The kids helped pick out the plates and Russ-the-neighbor was tasked with the drill...

Last night Janae and I were able to see the Salt Lake City premier of Shannon Hale's book turned movie, Austenland (directed by Jerusha Hess ). It was the best Girls Night ever!   (I think our friend Shannon would call it lovely night --because her vocabulary is WAY fuller than mine.) Anyway, my point!   The theater was packed. The people audience laughed and laughed and laughed throughout. Janae and I laughed and laughed throughout. And at the end, Shannon and Jerusha did a Q & A which was really cool. Thank you, Shannon. You are an incredible friend and neighbor--and an inspiration. Truly.   Janae and me; Me and Janae. PS: For those of you who are new to Shannon Hale's work, she's a PHENOMENAL author. She's published over 10 novels and earned a Newberry Honor for Princess Academy. Here's the link to her wikipedia page (I love that I have a friend with a Wikipedia page, PS.): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shannon_Hale And here'...

Kind of random, but I'm making pesto today for the first time. Ever since Elder Meehan left on his mission, I feel the need to try new things. I guess it's my way of distracting myself, getting lost in new things?  Oh, who knows?! (And probably, who cares? Ha ha ha.) It's a way to pass the time-- that's all I'm sayin'. But back to my point! Today I'm making pesto at Janae's--using her basil, her AWESOME BlendTec blender, my homegrown garlic, my olive oil ... and my $49.99 per pound PINENUTS! Yup, you heard me: Pinenuts are $49.99 per POUND here in Utah. What in the honk?  Funny, yesterday I tweeted about how expensive pinenuts were and people immediately replied "pesto doesn't really need pinenuts." WHAT?!  That's not what FoodNetwork says.  Now, I may only be able to afford two tablespoons of pesto, but I'm making it according to The Iron Chef's recommendation, people.  Work with me here.  I do...