Paper CD Sleeve

If you're like me, then you have a ton of blank CD's hanging around but you're always short on sleeves to protect them. Well thanks to my friend Sam, who used this clever idea for her wedding favors, I will show you how to make a snazzy paper sleeve for your burned CD's. I used this idea for the favors for the Bachelorette party I planned a couple months back and they were a big hit!

You can use a plain sheet of 8 1/2 x 11 paper but how BORING is that? If you can go online you can find a ton of printable wrapping papers.

I found this one at domestifluff.com but I also used ones from Martha Stewart.

STEP 1

Place the CD at the top of the paper, centered.

STEP 2

Fold the sides of the paper over the CD. Remove the CD and make sure you have an even crease on the sides of the paper.

STEP 3
Place the CD in the center of the folded paper and fold the bottom of the paper up making a pocket.

STEP 4

Remove the CD and pull the edges of the paper from inside the flap to make an arrow shape. Do this on both sides and fold down to make ears on each side.

STEP 5

Fold the ears under to make the pocket.

STEP 6

Fold the top corners of the sleeve inward and then slip your CD into the pocket and tuck the flap into the pocket.

VIOLA!

Now you can make the finishing touches on the sleeve by adding stickers, raffia or ribbon. HOW CUTE IS THAT?!

Beer Review Wednesday!

Starting today I will be doing a beer review every Wednesday (catchy name, right?). I am by NO MEANS an expert beer reviewer. I love beer and I want to expand my knowledge and push myself to taste some new variations. I found an article on BeerAdvocate.com about reviewing beer, so I've kinda formatted my reviews from that. I will review the beer based on five categories: Appearance, Smell, Taste, Mouthfeel and Overall.

So here we go with the first review. I absolutely LOVE Abita. So this will be only the first of the many great Abita beers I will review.

Abita Brewing Company, Louisianna - Jockamo IPA

Appearance: Beautiful amber color and very clear. Nice head.

Smell: Hops and a sweet citrus aroma.

Taste: Gapefruit is the first thing I think of when I take my first sip. Slightly sweet with a bitter after taste.

Mouthfeel: Good carbonation, very smooth and light.

Overall: I'm a fan of IPA's in general but this one is one of my favorite. It's very refreshing and smooth. Perfect for a hot summer day. I would love to try it on draught.

Serving type:  Bottle

I bought this beer at the BP in Five Points in Huntsville (great beer selection for a gas station) but you can go to Abita.com to find Abita beer near you.

For all my girls out there, let me know when you give this beer a try. I'd love to hear some of your opinions.


Happy Wednesday!

Tornado Cupcakes

I woke up at 3:30 am on April 27th to tornado sirens. Not a huge deal this spring with all the severe weather we've been having. It wasn't raining too hard so I just decided to go back to sleep. I had the day off of work and wanted to sleep in for once. I woke up again around 9 am when I got a text from my boyfriend asking me to check the weather. He was driving down to Birmingham for a meeting and was worried about the weather. I reluctantly got out of bed and turned on the local station and it wasn't looking too good in any part of North Alabama. He decided to turn around and head back home (thank goodness). I had tons of errands and appointments that day to get ready for my BFF's wedding the following week. I didn't make it out of the house because there were constant tornado watches and warnings. So I decided to bake. Logical, right?

I'd been wanting to try this Guinness cupcake recipe from the blog Big City, Little Kitchen for ages now and decided that now seemed like a good time.

I gathered all the ingredients and started heating up the beer and the butter and my lights started to flicker on and off.

No big deal, I'm tough. I've been through so many hurricanes I can't keep track anymore. I turned on the radio (satellite was going on and off) and just kept baking.  Beer and Chocolate, I mean WHAT a combination. The power flickered on and off but held strong through the baking process (I've got an electric oven).

The cupcakes turned out beautiful and quit tasty! While the cupcakes cooled, I took a couple of pictures out my kitchen window and then I called to check on my dad.

He suggested I come over to his house because they have a shelter but it 30 minutes away and I was not so excited about getting in my car. Right after icing the cupcakes and taking a couple of snap shots the wind really started to pick up.

There were tornado warnings everywhere. The meteorologists just looked like deer in head lights because there were tornadoes popping up everywhere. About 30 minutes after I got off the phone with my dad there was a tornado spotted on I 565 and coming towards Huntsville. This is the point I started to freak out. I started figuring out what closet I would jump in and well, I guess I needed to get out of my pajamas. So I started gathering my things and then I decided that the house wasn't safe and I drove about a mile down the road to my boyfriend's parents house and jumped into their tornado shelter with them. The 23 cupcakes were safe in my refrigerator until all this mess was over.

Fast forward 5 days. The power comes on and it's time to clean out the refrigerator. EVERYTHING had to be thrown out. It was super depressing to open the refrigerator and just have to dump those yummy cupcakes. Oh well, I guess I will just have to make them again!

Here are some pictures of the after math. I was really lucky that I was only inconvienced with the lack of power for 5 days. Alot of people lost their loved ones and all their possessions.

It's been almost 2 weeks since that horrible day. Please don't forget about all the victims of these horrible storms. Donate to the Red Cross whatever you can. Click here for more information or text the REDCROSS to 90999 to donate $10.

Happy Tuesday,