Life Lately

Inspired by several of the bloggers I follow (I'm looking at you, Erica!) I'm starting a new end-of-the-month series.  I'll show you pictures from my personal life and share what's going on :)

1-3. A day at the dog park! This is one of our favorite ways to spend an afternoon.

One of the recent changes for me has been on my blog.  I've been thinking a lot about why I'm blogging.  So many times, I'll get compliments on the things I've made where people say "I could never do that!"  But the thing is, it's not hard, and you totally could do it!  So I'm hoping that my blog shows you all how easy it really is to make these crafts and recipes.  With this goal in mind, I've changed the tag line for my blog to "Totally Do-Able!" and I hope you find out that they are!

1. Flowers from the farmer's market
2. Outfit for lunch out with Mom
3. Peach caprese salad
4. John and I are lead climbing qualified!

Also, with this new, totally doable attitude, I want to do a reader feature.  If you've made a recipe from my blog or done one of my DIYs,, send a picture to me Holly{at}GoesLightly{dot}com

1. Godiva truffle
2. Day lilies blooming in our yard
3. Back to school shopping!

Follow me on Instagram! @goeslightly

Blogger Do-Over

Sometimes, we just need a do-over!

So.... I have a confession to make: I mess things up ... a lot.  I sometimes feel like when I share DIY posts and projects, you all don't see all the "whoops" moments that I have when I'm working.  But they do happen!

The good news is that it's totally okay to make mistakes and to re-do projects.  If you mess up any DIY, just fiddle with it until it works!  Or, completely scrap it and start fresh.  No big deal.

Here's a few of my recent do-overs:

This was the tassel necklace when I first made it... about 6 inches shorter than I planned!
So, I just snipped the string of beads off, and started over!

Remember when I painted my craft stool?  Well, I hated the color!  So, I bought a new sample sized color and did it all over again :)

This one's an oldie... but it took me literally a year and a half to get around to painting this brush holder!
I'm still not sure I like it... but I can always change it again!

Hopefully I'm not the only one to mess things up :) 

Saturday Snapshot: Green Gradient

Apple Salad

During restaurant week last week, John and I went out to Cafe Lurcat for dinner.  It was pretty delicious!  For our appetizer, we each ordered their apple salad, and it might have been my favorite part of the meal.  So, I decided to try and replicate it at home, and you know what?  It turned out pretty darn close!

For one large salad you will need:

• 1 large Fuji apple (3-4 inches diameter)
• 1-2 ounces Manchego cheese
• 2 teaspoons chives, finely chopped
• Drizzle of olive oil
• Salt and pepper to taste

Simply cut and core your apple, and then julienne the apple with the skin on.  Think of the shape of shoe string potatoes.

Then, cut your cheese to the same size.

Drizzle the olive oil (a very tiny amount!) and toss the cheese and apple together.  Top with chives and a light amount of salt and pepper if you'd like.

Ta da!  So easy, and so delicious!  This is perfect for summer because it's light and refreshing, and you don't have to turn on the stove top or oven :)

Grilled Donuts

Monday I suggested grilling peaches for dessert.  Well, no offense to peaches, but these grilled donuts are by far the most delicious grilled dessert!

Get a few donuts of the glazed variety and don't be afraid to experiment - I got a regular glazed, glazed with chocolate, and an apple fritter.  And yes, the two of us ate three donuts for dessert.  Don't judge.

Just like the grilled peaches, the hotter your coals, the better grill marks you'll get.  But frankly, the grill marks are just for looks.  These tasty treats heat up with a smoky flavor that makes them taste fresh out of the oven... only better!

I want another...

Grilled Peaches

Happy Monday!  Today, I've got another grilling recipe for you (check out my grilled stuffed apples and grilled pizza recipes, too!).  Actually, this isn't so much a recipe as an awesome idea for grilling. :)

Simply halve and pit a peach and stick it on the grill, inside down.  The higher the heat of the grill, the better your grill marks will be.  But great grill marks or not, the smoky flavor of the grill makes the peach oh, so good!  If you want to kick it up a notch, try sprinkling it with some cayenne pepper or drizzling it with honey.

We made ours after grilling and eating dinner, so the coals were pretty cool.  But they were tasty!

Yum!

Saturday Snapshot: Rocky Shore

DIY Painted Sea Shell Votive Holder

This is such a fun DIY project, and the shells give it a nautical touch that's just perfect for summer.  Did I mention it's beyond easy?

You will need:

• Sea shells
• Chrome finish silver spray paint
• Mason jar
• Votive holder and votive/tea light
• Ribbon
• Scissors

First, sort through your sea shells and pick the ones you want to spray paint.  I found that there are some shells that just aren't very pretty- they make perfect paint candidates.  You also want to look for a variety of sizes and textures.  Keep in mind, too, that they need to fit into the mason jar.

Then, place them on a protected surface and spray paint one side.  Allow to dry completely.

Turn them over and spray paint the other side, double checking to make sure you got all the nooks and crannies.  Again, allow to dry completely.

Then, simply fill the bottom of your mason jar with the shells.  You'll want the jar to be about half full.

Next, tie a pretty ribbon (or some twine would be adorable!) around the mouth of the jar.

Finally, set your votive holder on top.

Ta da!  Totally doable!

Mulberry Mania!

I have discovered the mulberry, and I am in love! 

Mulberries are a mild fruit that grows on trees and looks a lot like a blackberry.  My brother has one over-hanging in his yard, so I went over the other day and picked a TON of these little berries.  Then, I set to work making as many recipes as possible.  They're all fantastic, and I highly recommend you check them out and give them a try yourself!

Sweet-Hot Mulberry Jam, from Fiery Foods and Barbeque Supersite
I think it would be pretty great without the chile powder, too!

Mulberry-Orange Muffins, from Pleasant House
These are SO good!  I'm going to make more this week :)

Mulberry Soda, from My Darling Lemon Thyme

Finally, the Mulberry Martini, my own invention :)

In a martini shaker, combine 1 ounce mulberry syrup (from mulberry soda recipe) with 2 ounces ginger vodka over ice.  Shake shake shake, pour into a glass, and top with lemon sparkling water.

Enjoy!

Inspired by Anthropologie: DIY Plume Necklace

I was browsing around Pinterest (90% of my day, really) when I saw this adorable necklace from Anthropologie.  I immediately thought, "hey, I could make that!"  And so... I did!  And you can too :)

To make your own (non $38) plume necklace, you will need:

• Pink embroidery floss (a full skein)
• Blue, clear, and white beads
• 1 flat turquoise bead (or make your own- I'll show you how)
• Optional, but helpful: beading or embroidery needle

First, make your tassel.  To do this, simply wrap the embroidery floss around your fingers over and over and over again until it is to your desired thickness.  Then, simply trim the embroidery floss at what will be the bottom of your tassel.

Take up the embroidery floss again and wrap it repeatedly and tightly around the top of the tassel.  Be sure to leave enough room to thread the tassel onto your necklace later.  If you want (I did), use a toothpick at the top to ensure you can tie it up later.  Tie in a knot, and trim the excess.

Next, if you don't have a nice flat turquoise bead, you'll want to get starting making one.  Find any color stone or clay bead in a flat shape.  Then, mix up some paint until you get a bluish color you like, and paint your bead.  Let it dry completely.

While your bead dries, start threading the beads onto your necklace.  Get as long of a piece of embroidery floss as you can.  Seriously, go much longer than you think you'll need.  One, you'll want this necklace to hang down low, and two, you will eat up a lot of length tying little knots.  I'd say mine was maybe four feet long to begin with.

Leave a few inches at the end and tie a single knot in the floss.  Then, thread on one blue bead and tie another knot directly above it.  Repeat the process over and over again.  To get the identical look as the Anthro necklace, you'll follow this pattern: 12 blue, 12 clear, 12 white, 12 clear, 12 blue, 12 clear, 24 white, 12 clear, 12 blue, 12 clear, 12 white, 12 clear, 12 blue.  Phew!

Well, by now, your painted bead should be dry.  The next step in making it look like turquoise is using black paint and saran wrap.  Pour a small amount of black paint onto a paper plate.  Bunch up the saran wrap and dip it in the paint.  Dab off the excess until you start to see the effect you like.  Then, just dab it on the stone sparingly.  This creates the look of the black ripples in natural turquoise stones.

Next, thread the two ends of your necklace through the top of the turquoise bead.

Then, thread one end through the top of your tassel, tie, and trim the excess.

Finally, cut the bottom of your tassel loops and fray the pieces of floss.

Now, wear it and revel in the fact that you made it yourself!