DIY Moroccan Wedding Blanket Inspired Throw Tutorial

You know those gorgeous Moroccan wedding blankets that are incredible but crazy expensive? They're beautiful and have such a great story behind them. In Morocco they're handmade by a Berber bride's female relatives and given to her for her wedding. After the ceremony the bride wears the blanket like a cape and takes it to her new home. Image 1, Image 2 I've had my eye on one of these for a while, but with their price tag it just wasn't going to happen. However, when I found this throw blanket on clearance at Hobby Lobby last week, I knew I could whip up a pretty close approximation and get the look for much less. In fact this cost me less than $50 to make.

Gold and Glitter Sprayed Pine Cones

Well hello there! How did it become Christmas already? Isn't it still October? In any case, I have a super easy DIY project to share to add some shine to rustic holiday decor. 

Spinach Bianca Lasagna

So apparently it's cold in the rest of the country? It's finally beautiful here, mid 80s during the day and 60s at night (and this, my friends, is why I moved to Arizona). It's finally cold enough to start thinking about warm comfort foods. For a somewhat healthier take on casseroles and lasagna, I like making a white lasagna so I can feel healthy eating spinach and chicken, while really I'm in it for the 3 cups of cheese. Whatever. 

See? Spinach. It's healthy. 

Cheeeeeeeese. More cheese, always. 

Ingredients:

2-3 chicken breasts

1 package of no boil lasagna noodles 

1 small bunch of green onions

1 bunch of spinach 

6 cups chicken broth 

3 cups of grated mozzarella 

salt and pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Start by cooking up the chicken in a frying and shredding it. 

Put a layer of lasagna noodles on the bottom of a 9x13" pan. Then layer, layer layer. Start with a layer of chicken and sliced green onions, then add a layer of spinach, and then mozzarella. Top with a sprinkle of salt and pepper and then add 3 cups of chicken broth.

Then repeat - chicken and onions, spinach, mozzarella, 3 cups of broth. You may not use all the broth. You want the broth to completely cover the upper layer of noodles or they'll get hard and crispy/chewy which isn't what we're going for.  Bake in the oven for 30 minutes covered with tinfoil. Remove tinfoil for the last 10 minutes to make sure the cheese is a melty golden brown.

Remove from the oven, spoon into a bowl, and eat your heart out. Mmmmm, cheesy goodness


*This recipe was originally posted on my now retired blog, Neroli Blossoms. 

DIY Gold Tipped Antlers

I have a fun, ridiculously easy DIY project to share today. Is it just me, or do other people's husbands/boyfriends have an excessive amount of deer antler sheds just lying around their house? Because I've already decorated with at least three, and I keep finding more in random boxes. (Also, for those of you who didn't grow up in the wilderness, these bits of antlers are called shed and fall off deer naturally. My husband usually picks them up off the ground when he goes camping). This is such a ridiculously easy way to get a rustic glam look. (Meanwhile, my husband is trying not to fall over as I desecrate these hallowed treasures.)

Step 1. Locate a shed. Apparently these are even for sale on ebay. I seem to have a million of them in random closets and boxes. But if you aren't related to or dating an outdoor aficionado you can sometimes find them at flea markets or antique shops.

Step 2: Tape off the area you want to spray. If you have terrible aim like me, poke holes in a plastic bag to cover the rest of the antler like some sort of bizarre plastic buffalo. It's awesome.

Step 3: Spray the antlers with gold spray paint and let dry. Caution: this stuff is strangely addicting and you may be hit with the sudden urge to spray paint everything gold. Dresser knobs, picture frames, your dog...(just kidding on that last one!!)

Step 4: Suuuuuper carefully peel off the tape and prance around your house holding the antler aloft showing off your beautiful tchotchke. Or, you know, behave like a normal person and just stick it on a dresser somewhere. But make sure to look at it appreciatively every now and then, because it is a pretty cool object.