Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Pineapple Paradise

It's a Pineapple Round Up! The great people from Frontera are sponsoring a giveaway on Home with Mandy, the winner to be chosen at random and sent golden pineapples shipped direct from the growers in Vera Cruz, Mexico.

Would you like some ideas on what to do with those pineapples? I have a great round up of sweet pineapple recipes including an appetizer, an entree, a cocktail and a dessert.


Follow the link below to read five recipes and enter the contest to win fresh pineapple.


Monday, February 27, 2012

DIY Coffee Table to Ottoman

I’ve been drooling over the fashionable ottomans displayed in almost every home and furniture magazine, but their price tag left a lot to be desired. Luckily, Pinterest is a great go-to place to find DIY…anything. After reading several blogs about turning a coffee table into an ottoman, I decided to jump on in and make one for myself.  Let's get a little crafty!

My grandmother gave me her coffee table, which is still in great condition with solid bones and sturdy legs. It may not look like much now, but with a little lovin' you will not believe what this piece of furniture becomes.

Tools you need for the project:
Sturdy coffee table
Sanding block or sanding sheets
Paint (if you want to redo the legs)
Foam
Electric knife or serrated knife
Ruler
Sharpie marker
Batting/Dacron
Upholstery Spray Adhesive
Drill
Scissors
Staple gun
Fabric
Button kit (if you are tufting the ottoman)

The first step is to decide what you want to do to the legs of your ottoman. Unless you are leaving them as is, you will most likely have to sand it down. I took a sheet of fine sand paper and took the sheen off the four legs. In some places I took it down to the bare wood.

I contemplated painting them the same green from the kitchen (adjacent to living room), and I also thought about retaining the legs a dark espresso color.

Monday, February 20, 2012

Pineapple Love

What's not to love about super sweet pineapples? It's natures candy! This fun looking fruit may look intimidating, it's prickly all over and spiked at the top. Once you get past that tough exterior though, a deliciously sweet flesh is perfect for incorporating into numerous meals. I recently partnered with Frontera Produce which grows super sweet, golden pineapples in Vera Cruz, Mexico and sells them under the Frontera Premium Gold Pineapple label in stores across America.

After receiving this care package from Frontera Produce, my first thought was to make a batch of my most favorite martini ever. Since I have already posted about the delish pineapple infused vodka, I decided to take this super sweet fruit and use it in a few savory dishes.

In order to keep your entire counter from getting sticky, I recommend cutting on a cookie sheet to corral all the juices from the pineapple from getting everywhere. With your knife, lop half an inch off the top and bottom of the pineapple.

Turn the pineapple upright onto its base. Notice the dark brown "eyes" around the edge of the pineapple. Place your knife on top of the fruit just behind one of the eyes. The eyes run down the side of the pineapple in a column. Slice down to the bottom of the fruit slightly turning your knife at the top and bottom to follow the curved shape of the pineapple.

Cut off the rest of the pineapple skin by slicing down from top to bottom along each row of eyes (as revealed by your first cut). Your knife should be behind the eyes at approximately a 45 degree angle. Don't try to cut off too much of the peel at once or you will take a lot of good fruit with it.

Follow THIS LINK to read three new recipes and enter the contest to win fresh pineapple shipped direct to you from the growers in Vera Cruz, Mexico.

Sunday, February 5, 2012

Dunkin' Donuts at Grocery {Winner Announced!}

The Dunkin' Donuts Coffee at Grocery Giveaway is now closed. Thank you to everyone who left comments, I got a kick out of reading the morning routines of some of my HWM readers. I used random.org to select the winner...drum roll please... Congrats to Ms. W!

Contact me at homewithmandy @ gmail dot com with your mailing address and Dunkin Donuts at Grocery will ship you one bag of Original Blend, one bag of Decaf, and two Dunkin’ Donuts mugs.

Have a SUPERbowl SUNDAY everyone!

Wednesday, February 1, 2012

Creativity is Messy and I am very Creative!

Lately with Jim traveling out of town for work I have been making simple dinners for myself or meeting friends out so I don't have to cook. I will grill a simple fish filet or throw together chicken noodle soup - whatever I make, it's not something new and probably nothing my HWM readers would be interested in. This hasn't left me with much "material" for the blog.  Because I haven't been cooking as much, I've needed a new outlet for my creative energy - my Silhouette Cameo has really come in handy lately.

I'm in l.o.v.e. with this crafting machine. It can do so much and has given me the tool I need to start and finish (and finish is key) so many projects around my house. Let me show you just what I've been up to...
 
This is a sign that I used to have hanging in my house but after Jim and I got married he suggested I throw it out. I tucked it away in my craft room until I figured out just what to do with it. My first step was to spray paint this board completely black.

I got the idea on the wording for this new sign after spending Christmas with my sweet sister in law. I love this picture of her with my nephew on our hike in Tahoe.


She (and everyone else with babies) could really use a sign like this. A quick search on pinterest (my new obsession) gave me the perfect phrase to print. Using the silhouette software, I designed the sign and then sent the sticky vinyl through the machine for cutting.

Next, I weed the cut letters off my vinyl so I can create a stencil.

Talk about immediate gratification - fun!