Saturday Morning Craftiness

Have you ever just woken up wanting to create something? I do, a lot, but rarely have the time to make anything cute! This "pinspiration" came from Mamie Jane's who got the original idea from Pottery Barn. The item is a tablet holder for your kitchen. You know, so you can cook while using a recipe from Pinterest...I mean, who uses cookbooks anymore?! There are 5 items required to make this precious kitchen gem: a cutting board, child's block, Scrabble tile holder, wood glue, and paint. Simple, huh? It couldn't be easier and the possibilities are ENDLESS!

Here's Pottery Barn's version, for $34.50 aka NOT GONNA HAPPEN!

and here's my version:

Mine features a quote from Virgina Woolf, "One cannot think well, love well, sleep well if one has not dined well." The added quote makes the piece look like art when my iPad isn't on it. I used E-6000 , the best smelly glue around, to adhere the wooden wedge block and tile holder and acrylic paint and paint pen.

I'd love to know what you think!

It's Been a While...

Hey Yall! I know its been a while since you've heard from me. Happy ChristmaHannuKwanzica! Well, 2013 is upon us and its time for New Years Resolutions. What are yours?

I saw on the Today show that half of Americans make NYRs and of those, 40% have to do with weight loss. Weight loss is on a lot of people's minds (myself included), but I feel like less emphasis should be on getting skinny and more on getting healthy. Let's face it, unhealthy food is certainly more convenient and often times cheaper. Some might say "why spend $10 on salad ingredients when I can get 8 or 9 double cheeseburgers from McDonald's, that's dinner for a week!" I've faced the same scenarios. Like many others, I've tried just about everything: Slim Fast, Weight Watchers, juice cleanses, low carb, counting calories. Some of these plans worked, but I grew bored with them and thought I could do it on my own...WRONG! This year is going to be all about change for me.  Something's gotta give and I want to actually start *living* my life. Starting small, I am going to limit myself to one soda per day, caffeine free of course, and its typically a ginger ale...my current favorite! And who's got the perfect recipe for a green smoothie? During my juice cleanse days I bought a nice juicer and now it's sitting in the box collecting dust. Green smoothies are packed with vitamins and nutrients and it feels like now is the time to start introducing more of those into my diet.

As for other NYRs, I think I'll add trying to be more patient with others and reducing the amount of time I spend with technology. I've heard recently that screen time before bed reduces the amount of melatonin, the natural sleep aid, in your system therefore making it harder to fall asleep and stay asleep. I'm the world's worst for flipping the lights off, plopping into bed, plugging my phone in, and cruising Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Pinterest for at least a half hour before shutting down for some zzz's. My phone is also my alarm clock so the cycle repeats in the morning after I wake up! I look forward to slightly disconnecting and starting to see and experience the world around me.

So, what are your New Years Resolutions? I hope 2013 brings you joy, love, and laughter!

Movie a Day: August

I'm back after a long hiatus and I hope yall are having a GREAT summer! We've seen record high heat here in Tennessee, so finding ways to stay cool has been quite a challenge. One way to beat the heat has been going to the movies- I've seen Ted, Magic Mike (yum!), Savages, What to Expect When You're Expecting, Rock of Ages, and a few more I can't think of at the moment. Plus, I've been hittin' Redbox up like crazy- a buck a movie?! You can't beat it!

For the month of August, I'm going to challenge myself to watch a movie a day: especially something I haven't seen before. Suggestions welcomed :) I may get super artsy and go down the AFI Top 100 list. You just never know with me!

Margarita Pie!

I have recently become quite addicted to Greek yogurt...so much so that I really don't care for regular yogurt anymore! Greek yogurt is thicker and tangier than regular and comes in many varieties. My favorite brand is Chobani, but I have fallen in LOVE with Dannon Oikos Key Lime Greek yogurt. My regular breakfast consists of a container of Greek yogurt and a serving of Cinnamon Life Cereal. The yogurt is packed with protein and keeps you feeling full longer!

(Yes, that's a spoon from Menchie's...I'm trying to save the planet here!)

A few years ago, I found the PERFECT recipe for summer get-togethers: its so easy to make and can be made days in advance. It's called Margarita pie and I got the recipe from a Stonyfield Farms yogurt lid. Here's the recipe:

1 graham cracker pie crust

8 oz. cream cheese, softened

1 cup Oikos Vanilla Greek Yogurt

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup liquid margarita mix

3 Tbsp. fresh lime juice

In a large bowl, beat cream cheese until soft and smooth. Add sugar, lime juice, and margarita mixer to cream cheese and mix until blended. Add yogurt to mixture and mix until just blended. Pour into pie crust and freeze overnight or until firm.

I tell you, this pie is TO DIE FOR! Every time I make it, someone wants the recipe. It's also really fun to dress the pie up with slices of fresh lime. 

Spring Break, y'all!

I have to apologize for not posting in a couple of days...things have been CRAZY around here! I'm on Spring Break this week, so all my projects had to be turned in before Easter weekend. Speaking of Easter, my weekend was filled with celebration my godfather's 80th birthday and lots of Easter festivities. My friend Anna came over and we had a Pinterest craft day/ Austin Powers movie marathon. Groovy, baby!

As tradition had it, my family dyed Easter eggs. I'm not sure what happened, but my eggs had a tye-dye/marbled effect. It wasn't what I planned but looked neat nonetheless :) 

As another tradition had it, we had my family over for Easter dinner. My family always says we put the "fun" in dysfunctional...that is so true! Of course, we had a great time and many laughs were shared. Each family member is responsible for 1-2 dishes to share at our gatherings and I am always in charge of dessert. This year, I made Salted Caramel Shortbread, thanks to Erica's Sweet Tooth's fabulous recipe. If you like caramel, you should definitely try this one- I made it a day ahead, and it was so easy to prepare the day of our feast!

My weekend was filled with friends and family and I hope your was enjoyable as well. Cheers!

Welcome to the Film Nanny Blog!

Thanks for visiting my blog. I can't wait to start sharing recipes, photos, bargains and movie reviews. For years, I have seen all sorts of blogs and knew that I could do something just like it. Well, there's no time like the present so let's get to it!

I just woke up feelin' crafty today. It's Sunday, so I just had to go to church :) As I was getting ready, I started watching the new show called GCB. I'm not going to say what that stands for, so Google it! Anyway it is HILARIOUS! It stars Kristin Chenoweth and Leslie Bibb and it reminds me so much of small southern towns everywhere. Here in the South, we all know that "bless her heart" isn't always as nice as it sounds. For instance, "her outfit it just hideous, bless her heart."

Back to the craftiness, I found this great blog that featured Day of the Dead (Dia de los Muertos) planters and I knew I had to make some of my own. The original idea came from the Creative Kismet blog. I finished one pot and started another and I am pleased with the way they turned out!