Apple cider cake with caramel cream

In celebration for the first day of fall, which also happens to be my big brother's birthday, I decided to make a cake that had an autumn influence. Without further ado, I give you the deliciously-fallish apple cider cake with caramel cream.

Cake:

1 cup white sugar

1/2 cup butter,room temperature

2 eggs

2 teaspoons water

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 3/4 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 cup pre-made apple cider

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, then grease and flour 2 round 8 inch pans. In a medium bowl, cream together the sugar and butter. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, then stir in the water and cinnamon. Combine flour and baking powder together in a separate bowl, then add to the butter mixture and mix well. Finally, mix in the apple cider until batter is smooth. Pour even amounts into each pan, then bake for 25 minutes. Once cool, pour the caramel cream between the two cake layers, then also on top until the mixture is dripping down the sides. Garnish with some ground cinnamon, if desired.

Caramel cream:

1/2 cup butter

1 cup confectioner's sugar

10 caramel cubes

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 cup milk

5 tbsp flour

Start by pouring the milk into a medium sized skillet, then whisking in the flour. Once the flour and milk are well incorporated, place the (unwrapped, of course) caramels in the skillet as well. Over medium-low heat, use a rubber spatula to continuously stir the mixture until the caramels are melted, and the flour and milk have thickened. Pour the caramel mixture into a bowl and set in the freezer for a few minutes to cool completely. Next, in a medium bowl, cream together the butter and confectioner's sugar until smooth; add the cinnamon and mix again. Add the cooled caramel to the sugar mixture and mix until completely incorporated and smooth. 

 

Coffee Table Makeover

Brett and I have been in our current house for a little over a year now. Since we moved in last year, we have not had a coffee table, which has been inconvenient to say the least. As I was driving home the other day, I just happen to pass by our neighbor's house right as they were throwing out an old coffee table that they no longer needed. Of course, I asked them if I could have it, and they were more than happy to load it up for me! It was a solid wood oak table that was in decent shape, but it just needed sprucing up. And I did just that. 


To start, I sanded down the entire top of the table to get rid of the oak colored stain and to smooth out the wood. Once that was done, I used a flat head screw driver and a mallet to knock off the dated braided molding along the sides; it had been attached with tiny nails, so it was a pretty simple task. Next, I started to paint, beginning with flipping the table upside down and painting the legs; I waited about two hours, then painted a second coat. After the legs dried, I flipped the table over and painted the top, let it dry, then did another coat. During this time, I also painted the drawer the same color as the table top. After all the paint was dry, I sprayed some satin finish polyurethane to help protect the wood from stains and messy baby fingers! As a finishing touch, I bought an acrylic knob to add some whimsy. All together I spent $34, including the paint and knob... now that's a cheap, but chic, coffee table!

Before:

Sorry, I forgot to take a 'before' picture before I started sanding!

After:

Paint:$30 for a quart of each color

Acrylic knob from Lowe's: $4

Vanilla Latte Cupcakes with Chocolate Cream

This is for my cupcake-loving best friend, Kimberly, because some days we just need a chocolate and coffee picker-upper.

Cupcake:

3/4 cup oil (vegetable or Smart Balance oil)

2 cups sugar

4 large eggs

1 1/2 cups cake flour

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/3 cup pulled espresso, or very bold brewed coffee

2/3 cup milk

1 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 and line two 12-cup muffin tins with cupcake papers. In a large bowl, or stand up mixer, cream the sugar and oil until well incorporated. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. In a separate bowl, mix together the two flours, then add to sugar mixture in 4 separate parts alternating with milk. Add the espresso (or coffee) and vanilla, then mix well. Divide among cupcake pans evenly, then bake for 18-20 minutes, using the toothpick test to assure the cakes are finished. Top with the chocolate cream.

Chocolate Cream:

4 cups sifted confectioners sugar

4 tsp cocoa powder

1 tbsp milk

1 cup softened butter

In a stand up mixer, beat together the confectioners sugar and butter until smooth. Then, add the milk and cocoa powder and mix again until smooth and well incorporated. 

Organize the Pantry

Pretty much since Brett and I moved into our house, our kitchen pantry has been a cluttered mess. Things were just thrown into random places, with no method of organization what so ever. After grocery shopping today, and after fighting to get everything I bought into the pantry, I decided it was time to tackle the mess. It was an easy and cheap project that is going to very much save my sanity every time I open the pantry door!


Here are the before pictures:

Awful isn't it? I'm so embarrassed to admit that was in my kitchen! All I did then was remove every single thing from the pantry to the counter for sorting and throwing things away. 

This is just one place on my counter with food; I had two more.

As I removed the items, I tried to organize things in groups on the counter so it would be easier for putting things back in the pantry. I bought 6 plastic baskets from the dollar store, and a package of 6 tight-sealed containers as well. After all the sorting and organizing, I can finally be proud of my pantry!

Isn't it lovely? To add one more bit of organization, I printed tags from my computer and used permanent craft adhesive to tape it to some construction paper. Then, I "laminated" the tag with some regular clear tape to make the tags more sturdy and durable.

Revamping the classic pearl necklace

I was cleaning out my jewelry box the other day, and came across a long-strand pearl necklace I had bought when I was in New York a few years ago. I hadn't worn them for awhile, so I just threw them to the side thinking "maybe I will wear these with something, someday". Then a few days later, I had an idea of what I could do to make them more wearable, and fashionable. Pearls will always be a classic, but sometimes it's just hard to wear them unless you are dressing up to go somewhere nice. This tutorial shows you how to "dress-down" a strand of pearls for everyday wear.


Supplies:
Long strand pearl necklace (mine was about 25'', from the back of my neck to the bottom of
      the strand)
2 different colored thin ribbon (I used 1/8'' ribbon in brown and ivory)
A lighter (or matches)


First, you want to cut your ribbon. Decide how long you want your necklace; I wanted mine a bit longer, so I cut about 32" long strips. Since you only have two different colored ribbons, you will obviously need to cut two of one color, and one of the other. This will be for the first braid.

Now, put the three strands together, and using the lighter, burn and melt the edges to form a faux knot. This will just keep the strands together for braiding. Then, just start to braid the pieces together. I just did a loose braid, and made it almost look a bit messy (doing this made it look more unique). Once the braid is finished, burn the edges like you did at the beginning of the braid. 

Repeat the previous two steps, and make one more braid. With the first braid, I used two ivories and one brown, with the second braid, I used two browns and one ivory. You can use which ever colors you want, but by doing what I did, it balanced everything out so there wasn't too much of one color.

Now that the braids are done, you can work on attaching them to the pearl necklace. Hold the necklace, and loop it around so that you have two strands of the necklace in each hand. Now take one of the braids and loop around and tie a knot around both strands, leaving just a little loop (so it's not completely tight against the pearls) on the ribbon on one side. After the knot is tied, cut off the little bit the is hanging off the end, and burn the edge so that it is secured even more. Repeat on the next side.

After that braid is secure, loop around and knot the next braid on the loop that was left by the last braid, burning the edges again. Repeat on the other side. 

And your done! Simple right? And the results are beautiful! 

Lime-Lemonade

I love summer - flipflops, laying by the pool, the smell of sun tan lotion, and just the overall feel of freedom summer brings. But, on especially hot, sunny days, nothing quenches the thirst better than a sweet, tangy glass of lemonade. While out running errands today, I had a sudden craving for some deliciously cold lemonade. I got home as soon as I could, and started the task of making a batch immediately! I have to say, this is some of the best lemonade I have ever had the pleasure of drinking. Just enough sweetness, with just the right amount of tart--perfect!  I found this recipe, but made an adjustment or two of my own. This beverage is best when served on a sizzling hot day, with the company of great friends!

1 3/4 white sugar
7 cups water
1 cup cubed ice
1/2 fresh lemon juice
1 cup fresh lime juice

In a small-medium sized pot, combine the sugar and 1 cup of the water. Over medium heat, dissolve the sugar, stirring occasionally. Once dissolved, transfer the simple syrup into a bowl, and place in the refrigerator. After juicing the lemon and limes, remove the seeds, but keep the pulp. In the pitcher, dump the 1 cup of ice cubes, then pour the simple syrup of the top; stir until the ice cubes are almost dissolved. Then pour and stir in the lemon-lime juice and the remaining 6 cups of water. Serve over ice and enjoy!

The vintage window

This past week, Brett and I had some friends down to visit . While they were here, my friend Amber introduced me to a fabulous little (and when I say little, I mean huge) indoor flea market. I have been in Fort Walton for about 4 years, and had seen this place and never made time to go in. Boy, what I have been missing!! This place has everything from antiques to junk that can be refurbished into amazing things for your home.  After my third trip in 3 days to this lovely shop, I had finally found an old window, something I had been wanting for years, and had never known where to find one that wasn't 50 or more bucks! So, after grabbing up this little beauty for $10, I came home right away to get started on a project with it. I introduce to you the vintage window shelf!

Supplies:

Old Window

Plain pine shelf board (you'll need to get a length that will match your specific window, and I wouldn't

      do anything more than a 7 1/2 inch width)

2 L-mounts

Paint (I used white to keep with the vintage look) and wood stain (I used American Walnut)

2 large D hooks

2 fairly large screws with anchors (use what size you think you will need to hold up your window securely)

Acetone (optional)

Cotton balls and Qtips (optional) 

Old towel

Mild soap and warm water

Window cleaner and paper towels

Before I started on the actual project, I had to clean up my window a bit. When I bought it, the window had been sitting outside in a shed collecting dust and dirt. To remove the grime, I mixed together about a teaspoon of mild liquid soap, and about a cup and a half of warm water. Using an old towel with the soapy water mixture, I gently rubbed at the window, to get off the dirt, but carefully enough not to take off more paint (but, if you do take off some paint, no worries - it's an old window with dents and scratched anyways!). After the dirt was removed, I used acetone on the glass itself. Sometime in the past, my window had been painted, and not carefully I might add. So, I removed the paint from the glass with acetone soaked cotton balls, and Q-tips for in the tight corners. Then just simply use window cleaner and paper towels to clean up the glass a bit more. 

My window before cleaning

Next, it's time to paint the shelf. I started out using a thin coat of off-white paint, using X strokes to make a vintage-look. After the paint coat is dried, take a wood stain and, using a paper towel or old towel, apply the stain in thin, random strokes, keeping some of the paint to show through.

I love that a new piece of wood can look beautiful and vintage

While the paint and stain are drying, attach the D hooks to the back of the window, in the corners

This is a picture from another project,
 but it's the same concept.


 

Once the paint and stain are dry, it's time to attach it to bottom panel of the window. Now, I already had some L-mounts at home to use, but the way my window was shaped, and the size of the mounts didn't work. If you have this problem, don't worry, it's an easy fix. All you will need is an electric saw, and an extra pair of hands. The only thing that needs to be done is figuring out how much you want off. I had to take off half of one side of the mount to fit, which can cause the shelf to be a little bit less sturdy, but still sturdy enough since I only have empty vases with a few silk flowers.

Notice half of the bottom of the mount is missing

Now that the shelf is securely attached to the window, It's hanging time. If you're not sure how to use anchor screws go to this link here for step by step instructions for hanging your window. 

And you're done! For decoration, I used some old bottles we had around the house (chardonnay bottle, whiskey bottle, and a pickle jar - all clean and label-free, of course) To add some extra interest to the bottles I used this tutorial to dye my bottles jewel-toned colors of purple, blue, and green. For a final touch, I used a few silk flowers and some curly willow branches. 

The *kinda* healthy cookie

Recently I've been on a healthy streak. Exercising, eating better, that whole thing. The only problem with eating healthier, is that you miss out on all the yummy stuff that is terrible for you! So, I researched different cookies and put together different recipes to make this super simple "cookie" that is done in under 10 minutes. Now, the reason I say "cookie", is because the texture and consistency of this little confection is so dense and gooey, it's more like fudge. Brett, my hubby, and I have been eating these like they could never be made again! 

Ingredients:
1/4 C. + 2 Tbsp. Olive oil
2 C. Brown sugar
1/2 C. Skim milk
4 Tbsp. Cocoa
1/2 C. Smooth peanut butter
3 C. Old-fashion oats
2 Tsp. Vanilla extract


Mix together the olive oil, brown sugar, milk, and cocoa in a large pot, on the stove, over high heat; stir occasionally to avoid sticking. Once these ingredients start to boil, continue to stir occasionally, and allow to boil for one minute. After the chocolatey goodness has boiled, turn off heat and stir in the peanut butter, oats, and vanilla. Allow the mix to sit for about 5 minutes, or until thickened a bit. Scoop out servings with a tablespoon onto an un-greased cookie sheet (you may need two cookie sheets) Allow to cool completely before storing in an airtight container, in the refrigerator.  Enjoy!