wednesday pinsday: project list

I have many, many projects pinned to my projects board, but these are a few that I'd like to put on my current to-do list.

{I'm borderline obsessed with the striped fabric used on this wreath}

{this laundry basket is so cute and inexpensive! and on wheels!}

{I've been making lots of dishes to share at gatherings recently. I need a casserole carrier!}

{how pretty is this lace top?! and way more simple than I expected}

{a DIY chalkboard serving plate. awesome. it would made a great housewarming gift!}

I'll just take next week off work so I can get a few of these done! If only! :)

Which project have you pinned that you're just dying to do?

xoxo, christa

scalloped potato gratin

There is a funny story that accompanies this potato gratin. While I was in Chicago visiting my Grandma, I missed my friend's birthday. Our friends gathered for dinner one night to celebrate and Steven sent me a link to the dish he was making to take a long. It was this potato gratin. The man who never cooks was going to make a gratin.

I told the entire hospital room of people "So Steven never cooks, but tonight he is making this to take to our friend's house." I turned my computer screen so the room could see it. {yes, the hospital had free wifi...} Everyone was all "Really?! You should make him cook more often!" And I really should... cause this gratin is delicious.

On valentines day we made this together. I peeled, he sliced, we layered the cheese together. It's almost like a metaphor for lives. I have my life, he has his, but we are layering our lives together to become one. I know how cheesy that sounds {pun not intended}, but that's what I thought while I was snapping the photos of this delightfully cheesy and gooey potato dish. :)

scalloped potato gratin {a tweaked version of tyler florence's dish}
2 cups of heavy cream
1 tsp of thyme
1 1/2 tsp of garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
2 pounds russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/8 inch slices
Salt and pepper
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese {I think we used a bit more}
Finely shredded mozzarella
Finely shredded cheddar

Preheat your oven to 375*. In a saucepan, heat up the heavy cream with the thyme, garlic powder and nutmeg. While that is warming, grease a casserole dish. Place a layer of the sliced potatoes in an overlapping pattern on the bottom of the dish. Season with salt and pepper, and pour a bit of the cream over the top of the potatoes. Sprinkle with parmesan, then add the cheddar and mozzarella. Repeat twice, so you have three layers of potatoes cream and cheese. Put a little more cheese on top than you did inside the layers. Bake, uncovered, for 45 minutes. If the top needs more browning, broil on high for up to 5 minutes. Enjoy!

Since we are such cheese-aholics, we added some additional cheeses to our recipe. You can add as much or as little as you'd like - that's why I didn't include an amount. We bought 2-cup bags of the mozzarella and cheddar and used almost all of both.

We polished off the whole 9x13 pan in 3 days. I think we should make another batch this week...

xoxo, christa

rosette headbands - taking orders!

{red | pink | orange | yellow | green | sky | navy | teal | lavender | purple | grey}

Way back in August I posted about these adorable rosette headbands that I made for my trip to BlogHer. So many of you commented saying that you were interested in buying one.

Well... today is your lucky day! I am taking orders for rosette headbands! You choose the color from the selection above and can pick to have one large or two {one large, one small} rosettes. I am making the headbands to order, so I'll be thinking about you while I burn my fingers. :)

Single rosette headbands are $8.00, shipping included.
Double rosette headbands are $10.00, shipping included.

 {me wearing a yellow headband, posing with April}

To order, you can either leave a comment below with your choice of color and number of rosettes and email address, or send an email to {cjanecreate @ gmail . com} with your choice of color and number of rosettes. I will then send confirmation of your order, my PayPal address so you can pay for your headband(s), and an estimated production and delivery time.

I'll only be accepting orders for a limited time!

Please let me know if you have any questions.

xoxo, christa

spinach artichoke dip

Mmm, this dip is so yummy! I've tried a variety of spinach artichoke dips, but I really like this one. I've made this four times in the past month. Luckily my friends and co-workers ate a majority of it. :)

I leave the artichokes in big pieces because, well, I like artichokes very much. If you like smaller, just cut them how you like. This is not a low-fat dip by any means, but boy is it tasty! I adapted a few recipes to come up with mine, here is what I did:

spinach artichoke dip
13 to 15 ounces of canned or jarred artichokes {I prefer hearts}
9 ounce package frozen chopped spinach
1 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup cream cheese {I used whipped}
1 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
3/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon red pepper
1 teaspoon black pepper

Pre-heat your oven to 375*. Drain your artichokes, reserving a bit of the liquid in case your dip is too thick. Slice, chop or dice them however you like and set them aside. Put the frozen spinach into a microwave-save bowl and heat for 20 to 30 seconds at a time until thawed. Place the spinach into a cheesecloth {paper towel works fine, too!} and squeeze to get out as much water as you can. Add it to a large mixing bowl with add the mayo, cream cheese, 1 cup of the mozzarella, 1/2 cup of the grated parmesan, the shredded parmesan, garlic powder, red pepper and black pepper. Mix to combine well. Add the artichokes and stir in. Put the mixture into a baking dish and top with the remaining 1/4 cup of parmesan and 1/2 cup of mozzarella cheeses. Bake for around 30 minutes, or until the top is browned and the edges are bubbling. I serve it with wheat thins and tortilla chips.

If you try this recipe, let me know how you liked it! Enjoy!

xoxo, christa

it's true love

{our hand heart}

Steven and I had a lovely, low-key valentines day. We always keep our celebration pretty small.

It's often hard for us to find a good night to go out together because of his work and traveling schedule and we never ever go out ON valentines day. So the other night when Steven asked me what I wanted to do for valentines, I said "Let's just stay in, cook some dinner together and watch Friday Night Lights. I don't want to go out into the crowds." He said "I love you."

{my valentines flowers}

That is exactly what we did! He did send me flowers at work. I gave him a card and went out to get us our ice cream. We cooked dinner together - with no spats about how we were doing something wrong!

With all the running around he does, it was nice to spend a night at home together.

I hope you all spent your day the way you wanted!

xoxo, christa

wishing

wishing you all a wonderful and happy valentines day!

xoxo, christa