Homemade Vanilla Extract

One of my all-time favorite baking ingredients is vanilla extract.  I can't get enough of the stuff!  I put it in everything from cookies, to pancakes, to oatmeal - you name it, I'll try it!  I just don't like the expensive price tag that you have to pay for mediocre quality at the grocery store.  So I took matters into my own hands and purchased vanilla beans from Beanilla so I could make it myself.  This brand is literally half the cost of the grocery store selection, so much fresher and shipping is free!  It came right to my door in 2 days!  I chose the Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla Bean, but have purchased their Mexican Vanilla Extract  before, which is also AMAZING.

Wine Trivet Art

If there's one thing to know about me, it's that I'm pretty artsy. It's kind of inevitable when you spend 6 years studying design with 100 like-minded people in your class.  The second thing you should know about me, I love a good glass of wine.  After a couple of years, I had almost 100 corks that I collected from friends, parties, restaurants, basically anywhere I could get my hands on them.  I started a hobby making beautiful wine trivets for my family and friends, and of course, myself.  It's a very thoughtful and functional gift that doubles as a piece of art!  What I like most of all, is how little it costs to make!

Cleveland Art Panels

I got a new hobby...painting!  Actually, I'm pretty proud of myself that I found an activity I enjoy that doesn't involve cooking or working out.  This idea all started when Howie and I were in Seattle.  We were walking around the artsy part of Pike's Place Market and saw some incredible wood panels that had a painted background with buildings and skylines carved in using a CNC router.  Last weekend, we tried replicating them on our own, swapping Cleveland for Seattle and subtracting the CNC routing part.  I loved every minute of it, which is surprising since I usually prefer drawing with ink or graphite over painting.