My dear, you have the Grim!

Halloween is coming up, and so naturally, I've been watching and reading  Harry Potter a lot recently. Actually, I always have Harry Potter on the brain, but it's nice to have a somewhat justifiable reason around this time of year.

Anyway, one of my favorite characters in the third book, Prisoner of Azkaban, is Professor Trelawney. She's kooky and eccentric, and completely devoted to her sometimes legitimate seer abilities.

I have always wanted a Grim mug, but they are not found in stores, and cost upwards of $25 online. So I decided to try my hand at being crafty!

So, without further ado, here's my DIY Grim Mug!

First, you need your supplies. You'll need:
a mug (any kind will work, but a wider base is better)
a paintbrush
a plastic plate
black ceramic/enamel paint
rubbing alchohol

Make sure your paint is designed for glassware, and dishwasher safe is a plus.
You're going to wash your mug with the rubbing alchohol, and put a small amount of paint on the plate.
Now I looked up several pictures of the Grim design online, and practiced a few times on paper to make sure I got it how I wanted it, but if you're confident in your artistic abilities, free-hand away!
First, I drew the Grim, aka, a big black dog.

I found that the actual bristles of the paintbrush were much too big, so I dipped the handle of the brush in the paint and used that.

Next, I added the rest of the "tea dregs."

Once I  was happy with the design, I let the paint dry for at least an hour.

Now, for this next part, you'll need to follow the instructions on your paint bottle, as they may be different from mine.
To cure the paint, I put the mug in a cold oven, and turned the heat on to 350 degrees. After the oven had reached 350, I baked it for 30 minutes, and then turned the oven off and let the mug cool inside the oven all night long.

And there you have it!

And if you aren't into Harry Potter, paint whatever the heck you want! Just remember that, though the paint says dishwasher safe, hand washing will ensure that your design stays longer without chipping.

Get to painting! And you should probably watch Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban while you do it; Emma Thompson is genius!

I freaked out last week.

I'll tell you why. 

You may remember the story I've told about my Carrie-sister and I as little girls, terrifying the neighbor kids with our macabre-filled imaginations, also known as: The Story of Wang and Chang. If you need reminding, go read it here. 

Don't worry. I'll wait.

All caught up? Good.

Now, last week, Brandon and I were watching a documentary on netflix about autopsies, and the story of a famed set of conjoined twins was shown.

Let me introduce you to Eng and Chang Bunker, who rose to fame in the mid 1800s, and actually coined the term "Siamese twins." They were joined together by a band of cartilage on their chests, and lived to the age of 63.

Here's where the story gets freaky, to me anyway. 

One morning, Eng woke to find that his brother, and other half, had passed away during the night. He followed soon after. Upon autopsy, it was found that while Chang had died of a blood clot, Eng had died of shock. He was literally frightened to death. 

When Eng woke, the shock and fear of seeing his brother dead next to him, killed him as well.

http://blueridgecountry.com/archive/favorites/a-hyphenated-life/

Guys, I had never heard this story before until last week. And yet, Carrie and I told it to our neighbors 20 years ago.  

Has your brain exploded yet? Cause mine sure did.

After watching the documentary, I immediately called Carrie, and she confirmed my feeling that she too thought we had made it up. I have distinct memories of coloring the walls of our clubhouse while imagining up this strange and morbid tale.

There are only two ways to explain this. 

1. Carrie and I must have heard the story on TV as kids and just don't remember. Although, if this were the case, wouldn't it be safe to assume that the rest of my family, our parents and older sisters, would have also heard of the story? None of them remember hearing any other version than the one we told in the backyard. 

Which leads me to explanation two:

2. Carrie and I are psychics and/or were visited by the ghosts of Eng and Chang Bunker. 

On another note, Halloween is coming up. I think I'll dress as myself at 7 years old. It's sure to scare the pants off of everyone.

Things I never thought I'd say till I became a mom.

"Please don't put your pancake down my shirt!"

Pumpkin Pasties

Happy October 1st! Let autumn commence!

To me, it doesn't feel like fall until October.  So in celebration of the beginning of fall, I whipped up some Harry Potter- inspired Pumpkin Pasties today!

"Around half past twelve there was a great clattering outside in he corridor and a smiling, dimpled woman slid back their door and said, 'Anything off the cart, dears?'

...He had never had any money for candy with the Dursleys, and now that he had pockets rattling with gold and silver he was ready to buy as many Mars Bars as he could carry -- but the woman didn't have Mars Bars. What she did have were Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, Drooble's Best Blowing Gum, Chocolate Frogs, Pumpkin Pasties, Cauldron Cakes, Licorice Wands, and a number of other strange things Harry had never seen in his life. Not wanting to miss anything, he got some of everything and paid the woman eleven silver Sickles and seven bronze Knuts.

...'Go on, have a pasty,' said Harry, who had never had anything to share before or, indeed, anyone to share it with. It was a nice feeling, sitting there with Ron, eating their way through all Harry's pasties, cakes, and candies."

-Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, Chapter 6

I've always imagines that Pumpkin Pasties were basically miniature pumpkin pies, and when I searched Pinterest for a recipe, I was right! I found a ton of recipes, but they all seemed to be pretty similar. In the end I chose this one.  Go check it out for pretty much every Harry Potter recipe you can imagine!

To make Pumpkin Pasties, you need all the ingredients you would need for pumpkin pie. Make some basic pumpkin pie filling. You know- pumpkin, sugar, cinnamon, all that jazz!

Next, cut some small circles out of a pie crust. I used a store-bought crust that you can roll out, because I'm lazy like that. If you want to make a homemade crust, go for it!

 Spoon a small amount of your pumpkin mixture into each crust circle.

Fold each circle in half, and seal it all together using a fork. Voila! Pasties!

 Brush each Pasty with melted butter and sprinkle sugar and cinnamon on top, then bake in the oven at 350 degrees for about 11-12 minutes.

I drizzled some condensed milk over the top of mine, because yum, but you can used whipped cream, or just eat them by themselves! 

Margot approves!

My only complaint was that I felt like they should be sweeter, so I think I'll add a bit more sugar to the filling next time. Or maybe some bits of toffee, or even chocolate chips!

Ok, I'm getting ahead of myself. Calm down, sugar brains.

I thing I'll try Pumpkin Juice next.

Margot is 3!

Last week, we celebrated Margot's third birthday! She was so excited!

Happy birthday baby girl!

Color me crafty!

Once upon a time, Brandon and I drove to Virginia for a med school interview. While there, I found myself strolling through the mall to kill time, and a miracle occurred. I found the most comfortable, best fitting pants of my life. They were on sale for $2; I nearly passed out. Obviously, I bought them.

After bring these beautiful pants into my life, I thought I would wear them every day. But, I soon realized that wouldn't be happening. You see, these pants were white. Very, very white.

 

It seemed that every time I wore them, I would spill ketchup, or sit in mud, or my kiddos would smear some unknown substance down the leg. I would stare at these pants in my closet with equal parts longing, and fear.

Until I was watching Project Runway one night, and got the idea to dye them! 

 I got Tulip brand fabric dye, because that's what the Walmart near me carries, for about $2 each.

I was going for a plum/wine color, so I got one red and one purple, and followed the instructions on the package, mixing about 3/4 purple to 1/4 red.

Thank goodness for stainless steel sinks!

And the finished result! Now, I live in these pants!

The color is very even, and vibrant even after washing the pants a few times! 

I love happy endings.

Yum!

Just a few of the things I've been eating lately.

Pioneer Woman's roast chicken

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2012/08/roast-chicken/

Yum to the billionth degree. There should never be any other roast chicken recipe but this one. 

Onion Straws

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2008/03/onion-strings-oh-yeah-baby/

I made these to go alongside some meatloaf and potatoes, but ate the entire batch before it ever got to dinner time. Literally, I ate an entire onion. Dip them in dome ranch or honey mustard, delicious!

Cinnamon Cream Cheese Rollups

http://rindymae.blogspot.com/2013/04/cinnamon-cream-cheese-roll-ups.html

These are just as yummy hot out of the oven, or chilled the next morning!

Gooey Caramel Popcorn

http://m.prettyprovidence.com/xamrq1s/articles/56247/Aunt-Val-s-Caramel

Portia and Margot have been begging me to make this popcorn every day. I used lightly salted, but otherwise plain, popcorn.