Navarre Beach Sand Sculpting Festival

Happy Thursday everyone! I hope your week has been going well. Today is my last day off of the week, so while you are probably slaving away and getting ready for your weekend,  I'm relaxing. I work every weekend but was able to take a peek at The Navarre Beach Sand Sculpting Festival this past Saturday. For the past 3 years I have worked at the restaurant that provides the lunches for the sand sculpture artists. So every year I hear about this festival but something has always prevented me from attending. This time I was able to scoot across the street and see what it was all about. Finally using the perk of working on the island.

The judging took place on Sunday so the sculptures weren't completed, but part of the fun is watching the artist work. Here are a few of the pictures I got to snap. The texture and detail is quite amazing. Click here to see the official website and information about the artists or here for pictures of the completed sculptures.

The HUGE castle that displayed all the sponsors.

One of my favorites. It won first place! By: Meli Beauregard

This one was called Storm. By: Fred Mallett

Very tranquil. By: Morgan Rudluff

People's Choice! By: John Woodworth

There were vendors with Pina Coladas and beach artwork (naturally). The air smelled of salt water and funnel cakes. I picked up a souvenir from the Navarre Beach Marine Science Station booth. I'll be rocking my new shirt and have the magnet on my car. I'm happy to support them! It's great to have children educated about our remarkable beach.

I wasn't able to stay long but enjoyed finally being able to see the sculptures! Since I went after work I was alone and I'm awkward in social gatherings. It was a hit and run kind of deal. What kind of festivals happen in your town? Do you ever attend them? Many around here are more family and child oriented so I tend to pass on those. They won't let me in the bouncy houses.

Summer Farewell, Fall Remix

I'm back. I swear! After taking all of spring and summer to reevaluate the direction of this blog, I have come to the conclusion that I boxed myself into two categories. I love trying new recipes and crafts but real life is much more hectic and spontaneous than a neatly thought out tutorial. I still do plenty of  recipes and projects, but I want this to be more than just a tutorial/how-to blog.

I want to incorporate more of my personality and the other things I am interested in and do; like thrifting, style, product reviews, book reviews, local events, new and updated Food & Hearts by J, and a new series replacing the HCP meeting series will feature more than just Pinterest findings. Expanding will also allow me to post at least weekly given the variety.

From the start I wanted Domesticult to be a chronicle of my journey into adulthood. I think encompassing more about my life will make me feel that I am achieving that goal. The past year alone has found me cooking and maintaining my house more efficiently than before, but life is about more than housework.

I did keep myself busy with a few things while I was absent from here. Here's a little of what I did.

Starting from top, left to right: 1. The anniversary surprise for Andrew this year. A whole concession stand, movie montage of our years together, a blanket fort and of course a romantic comedy was featured. 2. We attended his best friends wedding in March. It was a cold and beautiful beach wedding! Mr. P made a wonderful Best Man. 3. Adventure Time coasters I painted for my living room. 4. One of my art journal entries. Cats on Mars! 5. On my first meeting with the lovely Ms. Z we made banana muffins with a peanut butter brown sugar frosting. I made a new friend and Ms. Z also blogs! 6. The "Dragon Pig" cake I made for J's birthday this year. It's two of her favorite beasts! haha

You're probably thinking, "That's it? That's all you did for months?!" But, I assure you there was more but it wasn't blog worthy material. I've lived a pretty boring life for most of the summer months. I have deep cleaned my home in anticipation of fall. It's also the end of September and I figured it would be the perfect time to bust out the Halloween decorations.

Hello Fall. Nice to see you again.

There's going to be plenty going on this October. A new series will be introduced, J and I will be attending Gallery Night, Halloween parties and more!  Here's a few of my festive decorations to prepare me for the new season ahead. What are your plans for this October?

February Fail.

Everyone is well aware that Pinterest begins to give you gigantic illusions at to what you are actually capable of accomplishing. When your friends try some out and share the results is usually when you will decide to ever try it yourself. J made this cauliflower crust/cheese stick recipe that's been floating around on there for a while. She did hers in the cheesy "bread" way. I had thought the texture was odd at first but after you eat one  you can't stop! I gobbled them up at her house. She said she made them quite often in substitute of a bread snack. 

I decided to try it out myself and make the pizza version. I used the crust recipe from Fat Girl Trapped in a Skinny Body. I went with a little white Alfredo sauce, red onion, and mozzarella cheese as my toppings.

 I did not have parchment paper, however, when I made them. I believe this was my main problem as well as having them a little too thick. They stuck on the pan terribly! I eventually had to just scrape it off in chunks on my plate. It still tasted delicious but did not turn out pretty. J definitely had this recipe down! I'll find out her secret...

New Year And Carbs

I ended 2012 poorly. It's been ages since I've updated. It seems like I've apologized about my long bouts of neglect more than actual blogging. It was my first year into it and I'm still learning. My lack of organization and time management is also a force to be reckoned with. I just want to express my enthusiasm for the new year and new beginnings!

This blog started with the purpose of chronicling my journey of making an organized (and fun!) adult home and life. I may have slacked off on the blog, but I can say that I cook way more often, developed better house chore habits, and have continued creative projects.


I decided to begin with two bread recipes. I realized I've never made any type of banana bread or "breakfast" bread variety. J came over one evening and we gobbled them up. These breads are comforting and delicious. A perfect start.

 

Cream Cheese Banana Bread

 

Recipe @ fakeginger

 

 

I followed the recipe exactly. It turned out wonderful. Mr. P decided this one was his favorite. Cream cheese is always Mr. P's favorite. My banana's were perfect for this recipe. They were dark on the outside but perfectly soft for baking. I was glad I just happened to have walnuts in the pantry!

 

 

Banana Zucchini Bread



 



I adapted my recipe from Cinnamon Spice & Everything Nice

 

 

Ingredients:

 

1/2 C mashed ripe banana

1 C shredded zucchini

1/3 cup yogurt

5 Tbs butter, melted

2 eggs

1/2 C granulated sugar

1/2 C light brown sugar

2 C all-purpose flour

1/4 C toasted wheat germ

3/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp ginger

1 tsp vanilla extract

 

Directions:

 

1. Pre heat oven to 350F. Spray a 9 x 5 loaf pan with non stick spray.

 

2. In separate bowl, sift flour, wheat germ, baking soda, salt and spices together. ( I always do this while I'm preheating. Makes the whole process faster.)

 

3. With mixer, combine banana, zucchini, yogurt, butter, and eggs. Beat until just combined. Add sugars and blend on medium.

 

4. Add dry ingredients to wet. Beat until just combined.

 

5. Bake at 350F for an hour to 65 minutes, until toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool in pan for 10 minutes and then remove to rack to cool completely. Enjoy!

 

You could add a frosting if you would like. I enjoyed mine warm and with a little butter. I got a lot of compliments from coworkers that hate zucchini and loved this bread!