Monday, October 31, 2011

DIY Cupcake Stands

I've got to bake two dozen cupcakes for a bake off at my mom's church in a couple of weeks and I thought I would make (by I, I really mean my boyfriend) a really cute cupcake stand for the occasion. I've been searching the web for some great ideas and I've found a ton and wanted to share some of my favorites with you.

picture via giverslog.com


Picture via sweetcharli.blogspot.com

Pictures via Punky & Me

picture via MarthaStewart.com

I will post all about the cupcake stand and bake off in a couple of weeks. In the meantime I hope you are as inspired by these adorable clips as I was.


Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Beer Review Wednesday ~ Tallgrass IPA


So I ventured out and about this past weekend and went to the Nook Tavern in Huntsville. This place is so awesome and probably has the best beer selection in North Alabama with over 300 beers to choose from. They just expanded their deck area and it was a great night to sit out on the deck for the first time and have some great beers.

This is my first time reviewing a beer while I was out so this one will be short and sweet.

Tallgrass Brewing Company, Kansas- IPA
Serving type:  Can poured into a Pilsner glass by a very nice bartender. By the way the can thing really threw me for a loop. If you go to the Tallgrass website they tell you all about the pros of cans versus bottles. I honestly couldn't tell the difference so of course on a pure packaging/marketing stand point I thought it was pretty cool!

Appearance: Amber/copper color. Clear with medium head and no sediment.

Smell: Nice citrus/hops smell with a little malt. Good aroma, ready to give this one a try.

Taste: Mild, crisp with good hop flavor but not overwhelming. Slight bitter aftertaste but not too bitter.

Mouthfeel: Good carbonation, medium to light body.

Overall: Very easy to drink and a pretty good IPA! The hops flavor isn't overwhelming so if your really into hops this might be too mild for you. I think this is a great intro beer for those wanting to venture into discovering IPA's. The can again I thought was really neat. Of course the packaging was my favorite {Love the ROLL TIDE elephant} but I purely chose this beer because I wanted to try something new, I had no idea what it looked like. Maybe I should stop judging books by there covers? Naaah.

I bought my Tallgrass IPA at The Nook in Huntsville, AL. To find a Tallgrass IPA in your area, visit http://www.tallgrassbeer.com/maps.html

 Happy Wednesday,

Saturday, October 15, 2011

Roll Tide Wreath!

Some of you that follow me on Pinterest are going to be so sick of seeing me craft everything that I pin! I saw these adorable yarn wreaths on Pinterest recently and knew I had to make an Alabama one!


Myblessedlife.net via Pinterest

thesimplylivingblog.blopspot.com via Pinterest
I used a Styrofoam wreath that I bought at Michael's, a skein of yarn and some felt for the flowers. The banner I made with some houndstooth wrapping paper I had left over from Christmas. I will give ya'll one really big tip, please get the straw wreath with the plastic wrapping on it. I spent about 2 hours wrapping that stinkin' wreath! It turned out to be worth it but my arms hurt afterwards.



Happy Crafting!