Brownies! && Questions for the Readers :)

Hi!

So the first week of school and I have survived so far! YAY!!! I haven't had to much work so far...but I have worked up quite an appetite right now.

I'm craving...something sweet, easy to make, QUICK to make :), and just plain delicious. Thoughts ran through my head and I decided to make BROWNIES!

(No this is not my brownie....I found it on google images. But doesn;t it look delicious?!?! You can click HERE to go to the site it is originally posted on.)

(Oh the irony...wearing a cookie monster shirt BUT making brownies...lol)

So I am about to go downstairs and grab a box mix :O and whip me up some brownies real quick. I think it might be cool to try and make some homemade brownies in the near future...

So my Questions for YOU guys:
What is your favorite way to make brownies?
Would you like to share your recipe with me? And any tips?
Is there anyway to improve a box of brownie mix?
Anything else you want to share about brownies?

Please if you have the chance, just comment below answering as few or as many questions as you would like. :)

Thanks for reading ^_^

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Back to School

The month of August is now almost over.  I can't believe it!  This summer has gone by so quickly.  But it has been a fun, slightly eventful summer.  My school starts back in 4 days.  I am not quite ready for it but I don't think time will freeze for me, no matter how much I beg.  I will be a sophomore in college!  It seems just like yesterday I was entering into the scary world of Highschool.  Seeing that there is nothing I can do to either turn time backwards or slow it down, I might as well go forward with a good attitude!

I am majoring in Hospitality and Resort Management.  I needed to choose a major and I had no idea what I wanted to do as a career later on in life.  So looking at the list of majors, I came across this one.  I read a little more about it and it started growing on me.  It could be fun, and it seemed easy enough.  So that is what I went with!  There are many different aspects of this major.  There is lodging, food/beverage, casinos, tourism, and more.  At first I thought I wanted to concentrate more on the lodging part of the hospitality industry.  But now, I think I want to go more towards the food part.  I am very interested in running (I'm not sure if I want to totally open one cause that is quite more of a challenge) a bakery of some sort.  I really like baking and I think it would be really fun to bake for a living. But I am still not totally 100% sure what I want to do.

The past two semesters, for different reasons, I only ended up taking 4 classes each semester.  So I needed to take more classes per semester now so I can graduate in 3 more years.  So here are the amazing (and by amazing I mean not so amazing) classes that I am taking!
MacroEconomics
Intro/Hospitality Internship
Calculus
Food Production and Service
Spanish 2 (Online class)
English Composition 2 (Online Class)

I am actually excited about my Food Production class.  They said we get to learn knife skills and stuff.  And we get to eat our homework (meaning its food...lol)!  Who wouldn't want to take that class?! Lol.

Fun Friday - Coke Tab Bracelet

Today is Friday. Fun Friday that is! I wanted to do something fun for Friday, so I made a Coke Tab Bracelet. It is cheap and easy. When I first made one of these, all my friends wanted me to make them one too! 

So here is what you will need:
- Coke Tabs (I used 24 but the number varies for the size of your wrist)
- String
- Scissors

What to do:
First, cut off a good length of string.  I didn't measure mine, I just got enough so that I could cut off any extra at the end. Fold the string in half.  I will now refer to this as the top string and bottom.

Next, take a coke tab and stick the top string through the top hole of the tab and the bottom string through the bottom hole of the tab.  Thread them both down in the hole.  Easy right?

Now, slide the tab all the way to where the string is folded.  Then, turn it over and tie a knot.  It doesn't have to be anything fancy, just a simple little knot to help hold it in place.

Now, Take a second coke tab and slide it on the strings.  This time though, put the stings UP through the hole.  And don't tie a knot.

Ok. Pull the string back up through the holes in Tab #1. 

Grab a third tab.  Place it on top of Tab #2 and beside Tab #1.  The holes of Tab#3 and #2 should be overlapping.

Pull the top string DOWN through the top holes of Tab #3 and #2.

Pull the bottom string DOWN through the bottom holes of Tab #3 and #2.

Grab another tab.  We are going to do the same thing but with just a few changes.  Place it under Tab #3 and beside Tab #2.  The holes of Tab #3 and Tab #4 should be overlapping. 

Now, pull the string UP through the two overlapping holes - top string goes through top holes; bottom string goes through bottom holes.

Just continue to do that until it is long enough to wrap around your wrist.
So you just place a tab overlapping the holes, pull the string through both holes, and repeat except the string should go over under.

Before you know it, you will have a long chain of tabs.

So once your "chain" is long enough there are a few ways to finish it off.
1.  You can tie the two ends together and you can just slip it on and off.
2. You can tie it off.  Then get some elastic or other stretchy material and connect it to the two ends so you can slip it on and off but it will keep your bracelet to fit your wrist good.
3. Tie it off and then tie the two ends together every time you put it on and off.  This is the way I will show how.

To tie it off, let the strings be on the back side of the Tabs.  I ended with the strings on top, so I just stuck them back through the hole.

Now the string is on the back side of the tabs.  So turn the whole chain over, with the back side facing up towards you. Tie a knot.  You may want to tie a couple knots to help it stay.

Wrap it around your wrist. Wrap it right side up.

Slip on of the strings through the hole through the tab on the OPPOSITE end.

Do the same with the other string.

Tie the two strings together like you were tying your shoe.

And there ya have it.  A spiffy coke tab bracelet  :)
You could also make a belt.  Or maybe a headband.  Be creative :)

Here is me sporting my coke tab bracelet :)

Now I need to relate this to the theme of the month which is back to school.  So, many of us get new clothes and outfits for back to school.  Now you have a new accessory to wear back to school :)  Enjoy!


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Updates

Just a few updates:

I now have a twitter account for my blog! The link is in the side bar.
Or just click HERE.

I also started a DailyBooth account, if you are interested in following that, the link is also in the sidebar or just click HERE.

I don't have a facebook account or blog frog for this blog yet but possibly in the future!

There are some great giveaways going on over at Hoosier Homemade with the Back To School Giveaway Bonanza. Click HERE to check it out!

Oh and on the Left Side Bar, I now have a Navigation thing-a-ma-bob. When I post, I will also put links in those categories so if you see something you like, hopefully it will help you find it easier if you come back :)

Let me see....I don't think I have any other news at the moment...Alright, I guess I will leave you all with that. Have a Wonderful Wednesday!!

Marvelous Monday

Hello Everyone! 

I hope your Monday is going greatly so far!  A lot of my friends started back to school today (my friends are almost all younger than me and still in middle and high school.)  It is kinda lonely with no one to text me or anything.  Yes I love to text. :)  It is way better than talking in person, most of the times.  It gives you a chance to think and say more meaningful things.  But anyways, I still have a couple more weeks so I am going to make the best of it ^_^

Anyways, I made some cupcakes the other day cause I was starving!

I used the Perfect Cupcake Mix Recipe that I found over at Tidy Mom.  It really is better than just a normal cake mix.  The recipe calls for butter.  Real butter does indeed make it better.  I tried it both ways, with real butter and margarine.  Both are good but I think it is worth it to use the Real Butter :).  The real butter makes the mix more creamy, while the margarine didn't make it as thick or creamy. 
My icing recipe, I also used from Tidy Mom.  Here is a link to the Butter Cream Frosting Recipe on Tidy Mom.  It is very good.  It isn't too sweet and its a perfect consistency.  I love it.

My camera was dead and we were out of batteries :/  So I had to use the camera on my phone.  It is not very good quality at all.

I did the icing two different ways.  I did a swirl from the outside in, making it look like the ones on the right.  Then I wanted to try a rose type one.  So I started from the middle and swirled to the outside, looking like the first picture.  And then of course, a cupcake is never complete without sprinkles :)

I hope you all have a Marvelous Monday!!!




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Theme of the Month!

Something that I have decided to do for this blog is Theme of the Month!

Every post I do, I will try to relate it to the Theme for that month.  It might be a little challenging, but what is life with out a little challenge?  Challenges make life exciting!  They force us to learn and excell.

I am quite excited about my new blog and the Theme of the Month!  I have already planned a Theme for every month for the rest of the year!  These themes were rather easy since there is a major well known holiday in just about every month that the world has given a "theme" or symbol to recognize it by (for example: December - Christmas - Presents/Tree/Santa/etc).

Ok. So the theme for August is.......(drum roll)......  BACK TO SCHOOL!
Most schools start back in August so this was a good theme for this Month.  I don't start back school until August 31.  But my mom is a principal and she starts back next week I think.  I am so glad I am not in grade school anymore!
College = MORE SUMMER!!!!  YAY!!!! Lol.

I hope you stick around for the posts I have planned later this month!


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Welcome to Zig-Zags and Polka Dots

Welcome to my new blog!  I am so excited that you dropped by!!!  :)  Here are some answers that might help you know more about this blog.  Thanks for stopping by!


Why a new blog?
My last blog, Baking Paradise, was fun while it lasted but I felt like I needed to move on.  I was having trouble finding time and the need to bake something every week or so and posting about it.  I felt like a different approach was needed.
So here I am at Zig-Zags and Polka Dots.

Why did I choose the name Zig-Zag and Polka Dots?
- I don't really know.  I like polka dots....and then zig zag just popped in my head.  I thought it was kinda cute in a way and so I went with it.Lol!

What is this blog about?
- My last blog was just about baking.  I wanted to expand to other things as well.  So I closed that blog and opened this one.  This blog will have some cooking/baking in it, because I love to do that!  I want to also do crafts on this blog.  I love TRYING to be creative.  It doesn't always work but its still fun to try.  But I do love making stuff.  Its really fun.  And also, this blog will also include stuff about my life - my college adventures, and anything else I decide to write about.

Other than different subjects, what else is different about this blog?
- I am going to try and have this blog better organized with better features.  I still have to look around and research and stuff to find what all features I want to add.
I also have some big plans for this blog.  I am still planning but I will share a few things I have in mind:
   -- I am going to try and have a theme for every month.  All my posts I will try to have based on that theme.   Whether it is a craft, a recipe or just a random post.
   -- On different days, I will have different kinds of posts.  I am still trying to work this one out but for example:  Tuesday Treats...or something like that.


Thanks for reading about my new blog!