City Lights

I wanted to share a painting that I made for Bryan for his birthday. 

I am no artist but I worked really hard on this project,

 with LOTS of help from my very frustrated artistic sister haha :/

Bryan really enjoys poker and, therefore, Las Vegas, so I thought I would give him a little

something to decorate his room. I used oil paints and four 20x20 gallery canvases.

First phase (sketching):

And final product:

:)

To Die For

I have been ITCHING to blog about a Day Zero Project goal I completed

this New Year's Eve but, for some reason, none of the bazillion people

who had cameras has posted their photos online yet! I guess that is what

I get for not bringing my own camera :( ...which I just got for Christmas! Exciting!

While we wait for those pictures, here is a recipe for blueberry muffins that I swear by:

photo by Chipi Chef 

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1 egg
• 1/3 cup milk
• 1 cup fresh blueberries
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup butter, cubed
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 
  
• Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease muffin cups or line with muffin liners.
2. Combine 1 1/2 cups flour, 3/4 cup sugar, salt and baking powder. Place vegetable oil into a 1 cup measuring cup; add the egg and enough milk to fill the cup. Mix this with flour mixture. Fold in blueberries. Fill muffin cups right to the top, and sprinkle with crumb topping mixture.
3. To Make Crumb Topping: Mix together 1/2 cup sugar, 1/3 cup flour, 1/4 cup butter, and 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon. Mix with fork, and sprinkle over muffins before baking.
4. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes in the preheated oven, or until done.

*The reviews (which are the main reason I am obsessed with Allrecipes.com) remind you not to over-mix your batter, or else the muffins will have trouble rising... I have had this problem several times, so be careful! 

♥ ♥ ♥

I have been working on another goal for the past few days

 and I am proud to announce that I am halfway done!

 Maybe I will be done by this weekend... It is a good one so get excited :)

♥