Phancy...Juices?

Fresh Papaya Juice

The hubs and I have been on a health kick...and we're hoping that it keeps kicking.
We've been blending green smoothies every morning for almost 9 months now, and we decided to do the crazy.

The Crazy = JUICE FAST DIET.

Yes...for 10 days, we were gonna drink, drink, and drink some more. After watching Fat Sick And Nearly Dead as well as Forks Over Knives, our friends and I decided to do a cleanse. Breville was out of the storage, pounds of veggies and fruits were bought, and TEAM JUICEFAST was starting strong and committed.

...until Day 2, when Ali and Ashley pulled out. But then Matt joined the crew on Day 3 to do a 7 day juice fast...until 3 meals later when he was clutching the porcelain bowl and praying for solid food. Team Juicefast was cut in half but going strong.

Day after day, we drank juice 4-6 times a day, each "meal" was 20-24oz. Dinner time was definitely the hardest - all I wanted to do was eat and all I could think about was eating. So...Day 7 came around, and we caved. We 3 decided that we did well and that it was time to eat something solid. (It didn't help that we had been craving burgers for the last 5 days.) So together we FaceTimed and stuffed our faces with fruit at 9pm at night.

I still consider our JuiceFast a success. I lost 5 lbs and have kept it off for the last month - I really thought that it would all bounce back, since I assumed all I lost was water and poop weight. (hehe)
But it was delicious, and the new recipe that i LOVED was this almond milk:

Homemade Almond Milk

Homemade Almond Milk:

• 1 cup almonds (raw, organic is best)
• 4 cups water
• 1 vanilla bean or 1 tsp pure vanilla extract 
• 4-6 dates

Directions:

1. Soak almonds overnight or for at least 8 hrs in water. 
2. Blend soaked almonds, water, dates and vanilla (the bean is definitely tastier) until as smooth as possible.
3. Depending on how pulp-y you like your milk, you can shake it up and drink as is or strain it through a cheesecloth or nut milk bag.
4. If using a cheese cloth, use at least 2 layers of the cloth and secure it around the top of a container with a rubber band. You'll have to use a spatula or spoon to scrape the almond pulp off, to allow it to continue to strain properly.
5. Then refrigerate and enjoy! (Will keep in fridge for 3-4 days)

Has it really been that long?

Wow...didn't realize that it's been a year since I've written on here!
Which of course means...that I haven't started/finished any new projects lately. :(

But we made a big move down to sunny Texas, and life's been crazy busy.
I have a few projects up my sleeve...just waiting for some time to do it. Once I get to it though, you can be sure that it'll be up on this site.

15min away from my home...not a bad way to live

Phancy...New Year!

2010 brought along with it some really great moments...in particular, my wedding! Wedding-planning was the vehicle that got me going with all my craft projects, and now I can't stop :-P

I learned so much last year, and I'm looking forward to more in 2011.

My latest adventure was in knitting - first time knitting, and I made 2 scarves. The first one wasn't so great to be honest. It looked sloppy and I just couldn't figure out the patterns. But I made one for my new Mother-in-law for the holidays, and if you don't look too closely, it turned out pretty well :-P

(The scarf ended up being 24-25 stitches wide with a knit stitch bordering the main stockinette stitch. I forgot to take a photo, so I'll have my MIL take one and send it. )

I'm making one for my mom now too. It's gonna take awhile, because it makes my hands hurt...and honestly the repetition of knitting bores me.

But I started it, so I'm gonna finish it - good new years resolution, eh? :)

{ PhancyFoods: Spicy Hot Cocoa Mix }

Happy Holidays!

Hot Cocoa anyone? I love hot chocolate, but sometimes I'm too lazy to stand in front of a stove and stir. So instead, I decided to make my own hot cocoa mix, based on Alton Brown's recipe.


They turned out to be perfect to give out as gifts for the holidays to my co-workers. I used the same jars as I did for the bath salts - they're just perfect for so many things! (I prefer the cylindrical jar for the cocoa, because it's easier to put on the label.)

So several batches later, I came up with a good, spicy "Mexican" hot cocoa recipe with cayenne pepper and cinnamon to give it a kick. Reminds me of Bittersweet Cafe in SF. *ahhh*

I layered the ingredients to make it cuter :) So I have the hot cocoa mix at the bottom, mini semi-sweet chocolate chips, and then mini-marshmallows on top. I decorated the jars with ribbon, tissue paper (stamped with a "P"), and some candy canes. Festive, oui?

They turned out really well. I had to use semi-dutched-processed cocoa (hard to find the good stuff). But found out that Penzeys has real dutch-processed cocoa powder! So I'll try that next year and maybe use the malted milk *yum*

Can't wait to have a mug full of chocolate, sit back on my recliner, and watch the snow fall in the warmth of my home :)

{ PhancyBags: Flower Clutch }

So I took another sewing class to make this cute clutch with a flower detail. It was pretty confusing, and I doubt I'd be able to recreate it from the instructions that were given.  Even the teacher couldn't understand the poorly written instructions, and ended up giving us tips on how she did it instead.

In the end, it turned out really well and I'm glad I took the class. Just wish I could remember how to do it so that I can make them as gifts. Actually, what I need to learn is an EASIER way to make them :P


Originally, we were supposed to use zippers to make the flowers, but the contrasting fabric I chose ended up looking better. The zipper flowers were cute, but a little bulky and heavy for the linen fabric I used. [see photo below]

Materials used:
-Linen fabric for outside
-Medium Weight Interface
  (not heavy enough)
-Lining in a beautiful teal
  (photo shows blue)
-Magnetic clasps
-20" zippers (in gray and teal)



I want to find a pattern that has a zipper inside to close up the main compartment. But I'm not advanced enough yet...so gotta take more classes! It's definitely not bad...but again, practice makes perfect. :-P

{ PhancyFace: Body Products }

Been busy trying out different recipes for the favors I'm giving at Aja's Bridal Shower in September!

My first couple of batches were...well, gross. The Bath Salts smelled funny (used "Lavender Breeze" instead of  "Lavender") and they kept clumping. The Sugar Scrubs weren't so heavenly-smelling either. But now I have the right ingredients and the right proportions! *yay*

I wanted to use as much all natural ingredients as possible, and went on a hunt all over Milwaukee to find the goods. Here's how they came out - lookie lookie down there :)

[brown sugar scrub and lavender bath salt bridal shower favors]

• Lavender Bath Salts: Mineral Salt, Dead Sea Salt, Epsom Salt, Dendritic Salt, Sodium Bicarb, Lavender Essential Oil, colorant (blue)

• Brown Sugar Body Scrub: Brown sugar, White Cane Sugar, Grapeseed oil, Vitamin E, coffee grinds
• Other trials included the following:
• Vanilla extract: Very strong alcohol smell - made me cough.
• Olive oil: Ehh... not a particularly attractive smell

• Oatmeal and Rosemary Goat Milk Soap: Goat Milk Soap, Oatmeal, fresh Rosemary, Rosemary Essential Oil
• Simple combination for a great soap. It exfoliates and leaves my skin soft and fragrant. Love it!

So now I've got to get everything together for the ladies - the list keeps growing! I might have to change to smaller jars, so that I can lug them all to SF.

---------
On a side note...my "PhancyThings" product line is definitely growing. [see original post]
I might even make a new name for my "skincare" line (hehe). Maybe PhancyFace & Body or PhancySpa or Phancy...oh who knows!

Blissfully wedded

As of April 10, 2010 ~ this phancy lady got hitched :)

My DIY projects for the wedding came to fruition - with a lot of help from my friends. I definitely couldn't have done it w/o them!

My programs:


There's so much more, but it'll have to be another post.

My new projects in the making:
-homemade bath salts
-handmade soaps

Thinking about giving them as favors for my gf's bridal shower in September! I'm the MOH - and it's SO much better planning for someone else's wedding than your own :)

DIY Wedding Projects

43 days until THE DAY.

I have so much to do, but I won't really be able to get going on my DIY projects until I get home in March. I don't have the capacity to lug all the projects from WI to CA, so I'll have to really be good about time management.

My DIY To-Do List:

1. Birdcage card holder: to add moss, rhinestones, flowers, sing
   
2. Wine Bottle Table Numbers: to wrap around the wine bottles with ribbon
3. Menu/Programs: to place on each plate to add more color to the white/ivory linens and dishes
4. Escort Cards/ Favors: make cards to go inside and ribbon to wrap it up
   
5. Birdcage centerpieces: I was thinking about placing candles, branches/twigs, moss balls, moss and flowers inside. Only going to make ~15.
   
6. BM Necklaces: making some vintage-inspired necklaces with rosettes. In the process of it now
7. Table Runners: ?? Need to make these when I get home to CA - not sure if I'll have time!
8. Moss monograms: almost done :)
9. Moss "P"s to hang on the gate: larger cursive "P" similar to logo cut from poster board
10. The Wishing Board: to post up the wishes and advice that friends and family wrote. Probably use a moss covered corkboard or a foam poster board.
11. Head Table Backdrop - in moss?
12. Ceremony "arch": use cheap pots, cement and wooden poles - DIY Chuppah
    

Ahhh! So much to do!

Bridesmaid Gifts - Success!

So I gave the girls their gifts (both the BMs & the honorary BMs) during my Bachelorette Weekend in Park City. (Best weekend EVER!)

The girls loved it and were impressed by my DIY skills ^_^

Wish I had a photo to show, but it was around 2am after the bridal shower, so we were all exhausted.

Anyhow, love the girls and love their gifts ^_^

{ PhancyOccasions: Bridesmaid Emergency Kits }

So I decided to create a lil emergency kit for each of my BMs for the day of the wedding.

They turned out great! I used zip lock bags (for easy closure later on) and made my own tags for them.


Inside each kit:
-Chapstick
-bobby pins & hair tie
-safety pin
-band-aids
-Aveeno lotion
-Shout stain remover wipes
-round cotton pads
-Ibuprofen
-gum
-tissue





I think the girls will find it useful, and they turned out really pretty. So happy with the labels too ^_^