AKM designs and delights

Bake Me Happy - Pretzel Bottomed Reeses Peanut Butter Cup Cookie Pie

2012-02-24T09:55:00.001-06:00

I tend to be a fairly conventional person.

I’m not a “fly by the seat of my pants” kinda gal.

I like the norm. The status quo. A schedule even.

I work well with structure and repetition.

That doesn’t translate into boring…I am just prepared. Isn’t that what we try and teach our children? To be prepared for life. Have a plan and stick to it…that kind of thing.

When people say they are looking for “spontaneity” and “excitement” I just don’t get it.

I tried to be that person when I was young, but the truth is…it was never “me”.

I like what I like, I do what I do, and I don’t need anyone coming in all willy-nilly and messing up my order.

Don’t pop over to my place unannounced. I don’t have a “pop over-able personality”. I need time to “wrap my mind” around the fact that you are coming over. Mr. AKM would say I’m anti-social. I’m not really. I love to socialize…I just wanna KNOW when I’m expected to do it. I have conversations to prepare for…and I usually need to wash my hair before I face people…or at least throw on my favorite baseball cap. Is that too much to ask?

I don’t do spontaneous vacations. The thought of a get up and go trip gives me anxiety. Like the fact that I need to go to the doctor to get anxiety meds kind-of anxiety.

I hate to fly…not because of my fear of heights or fear of crashing but because I can’t just pull the plane over and get out anytime I want. It’s a “control” thing for me.

I am still a fun person. At least that’s what I tell myself. I just like to plan my fun.

So back to predictability…

When it comes to making desserts I make what I like…brownies and chocolate cake. Nothing wrong with that. Again, I like what I like. And if I’m baking it, why shouldn’t it be all about me and my likes?

My kids tell me its “boring”…predictable even. GAH! Can’t they just be grateful that I like to bake at all? Geesh!

Soooo…I decided that maybe it might be time to step outside of my comfort zone and try something a little less “predictable”.

And then I found these.

And then I made them.

And we all ate them.

And they are not at all boring or predictable!

Go make them and see for yourself!

Pretzel Bottomed Reeses Peanut Butter Cup Cookie Pie

by Angi McCarthy of AKM designs & delights

Keywords: peanut butter pretzel pie cookie

Ingredients (1 cookie pie)

Prezel Bottom

2 cups crushed pretzels
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup butter, melted

Cookie Pie

1 cup butter, room temp
3/4 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 1/4 cups white wheat flour (or you can use white)
1 cup milk chocolate chips (I used Ghirardelli cuz its the best EVER)
1 (8 oz) bag Reese's minis

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350°

Combine crushed pretzels, 1/2 cup melted butter and 1/2 cup sugar in a bowl. Press mixture firmly into the bottom and up sides of a 10" pie or tart pan.

Bake for 8 minutes. Remove from oven.

While crust is baking make the blondie filling.

Cream butter, 3/4 cup granulated sugar and 1/2 cup brown sugar with your mixer.

Add eggs and vanilla and beat until combined and smooth.

On low speed add in your baking soda, salt and flour until incorporated evenly.

Stir in your chocolate chips and Reese's Minis until evenly distributed.

Press mixture on top of baked crust.

Place pie back in oven for 30-35 minutes until just set.

Let cool on wire rack before serving.

Enjoy with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top and come back and tell me how much you LOVED it!

**Post inspired by Cookies & Cups.

You may find this post partying in the following places:

Monday: Debbie Doos - The Girl Creative - Skip to My Lou - Craft O Maniac - Lisa's Craft Blog - The DIY Show Off -Everything Under the Moon

Tuesday: Not Just A Housewife - My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia - Clean and Scentsible - Crazy For Crust - recipes - Uncommon Designs

Wednesday: Savvy Southern Style - Blue Cricket Design - Seven Thirty-Three - Someday Crafts - Michele Raven Designs/

Thursday: Delightful Order - Something Swanky - Recipes - The How To Mommy - A Little Nosh

Friday: Dwell on Joy- Finding Fabulous - Chic on a Shoestring Decorating - Fingerprints on the Fridge - Shabby Nest - Whipperberry – Miss Mustard Seed - French Country Cottage - Sweet Tooth Friday (Alli-n-son), I'm Lovin' it Fridays (TidyMom), Friday Favorites (Simply Sweet Home), Latest & Greatest Friday (Days of Chalk and Chocolate), Bacon Time, Fusion Friday (Jane Deere Blog).

Chocolate Cupcakes w/Cinnamon Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

2012-02-15T06:08:00.001-06:00

Apparently, I have a bit of a memory problem..as in, I forget EVERYTHING! At least this is what my kids and husband claim. A pile of clothes is left on the floor and I ask my kids why they weren’t put in the laundry hamper and the answer is “you forgot to tell me to put them there”. I forgot…not them. The trash wasn’t taken out on my oldest son’s chore day to do so and it is because I forgot to remind him to do it. Our dogs ran out of food and my husband did not know this and subsequently did not pick up any while he was at the store (though he feeds them everyday) and I forgot to mention to him that the dogs were out of food. Seriously? I’m really starting to worry about myself and “my” forgetfulness.

Friday, after working all week long, and nearing that “special” time of the month, I decided that I needed chocolate…LOTS of chocolate so I made a batch of rich, dark chocolate cupcakes and thought I’d surprise everyone with a cinnamon chocolate butter cream frosting. Sound’s divine doesn’t it? I worked on these decadent treats for over an hour. I even took the time to pipe on the frosting instead of doing it old-school with a knife.

Then the men of my family showed up.

And the conversation went something like this…

Oldest “what are those?”

Youngest “why did you make cupcakes?”

Me “It’s Friday and I wanted to give everyone a treat”…said with a smile

Oldest “you said you’d make cheesecake”

Youngest “I don’t like chocolate”

Me “since when?” said to the youngest

Oldest “you promised me cheesecake”

Youngest “she probably forget” said to the oldest

Husband “Is it that time of the month?”

Me – no words…just thoughts “are you freaking kidding me???” I slave in here for an hour and all you can say is “no cheesecake?” and did you seriously just ask me if it was that time of the month?... Though it was but I don’t need to admit to that! I just made freaking cupcakes for crying out loud!!

Oldest “ugh…you forget EVE.Ree.THING!”

Then the conversation spiraled downward even further so I casually poured myself a glass of wine, while they all continued to bicker amongst themselves, took the cupcake with the most amount of frosting on it, walked out of the kitchen, directly into my bathroom and LOCKED.THE.DOOR!

I then proceeded to enjoy them both in a hot, bubble filled tub while listening to Enya playing in my ears all the while forgetting the men in my life still arguing in the kitchen.

And I have to tell you all, that THAT was the best. damn. cupcake. EVER!

So here you have it…the NOT cheesecake Chocolate Cupcake with Cinnamon Chocolate Buttercream frosting.

I hope that you enjoy it as much as I did!

Chocolate Cupcakes frosted with Cinnamon Chocolate Buttercream

by Angi McCarthy

Keywords: dessert chocolate cinnamon cupcake

Ingredients (serves 12)

Chocolate Cake

2 cups sugar
1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons unsweetened Hershey's Special Dark cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 eggs
1 cup buttermilk
1 cup strong black coffee (I used Starbucks Cafe Verona Roast)
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup EV Olive oil
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Cinnamon Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

1 cup unsalted butter softened (but not melted!)
3 1/2 cups confectioners (powdered) sugar
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon table salt
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
4 tablespoons milk or heavy cream

Instructions

Chocolate Cake

Heat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour two 9-inch round baking pans or one 13x9x2-inch baking pan. Set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment or in a large bowl with an electric mixer, combine the sugar, flour, cocoa(s), baking soda, baking powder. Mix on low until dry ingredients are thoroughly combined. Add eggs, buttermilk, coffee, oils and vanilla. Beat on medium speed for about two minutes; the batter will be thin. Pour batter evenly into prepared pans.

Bake in preheated oven for 30 to 35 minutes for round pans, 35 to 40 minutes for rectangular pan or until wooden toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely.

Frost with any icing you'd like. I topped mine with a Cinnamon Chocolate Buttercream Frosting.

Cinnamon Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

Cream butter for a few minutes in a mixer with the paddle attachment on medium speed. Turn off the mixer. Sift 3 cups powdered sugar, cinnamon and cocoa into the mixing bowl. Turn your mixer on the lowest speed (so the dry ingredients do not blow everywhere) until the sugar and cocoa mixture are absorbed by the butter. Increase mixer speed to medium and add vanilla extract, salt, and milk/cream and beat for 3 minutes. If your frosting needs a more stiff consistency, add a little more sugar. If your frosting needs to be thinned out, add additional milk 1 tablespoon at a time.

You may find this post partying in the following places:

Monday: Debbie Doos - The Girl Creative - Skip to My Lou - Craft O Maniac - Lisa's Craft Blog - The DIY Show Off -Everything Under the Moon

Tuesday: Not Just A Housewife - My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia - Clean and Scentsible - Crazy For Crust - recipes - Uncommon Designs

Wednesday: Savvy Southern Style - Blue Cricket Design - Seven Thirty-Three - Someday Crafts - Michele Raven Designs/

Thursday: Delightful Order - Something Swanky - Recipes - The How To Mommy - A Little Nosh

Friday: Finding Fabulous - Chic on a Shoestring Decorating - Fingerprints on the Fridge - Shabby Nest - Whipperberry – Miss Mustard Seed - French Country Cottage - Sweet Tooth Friday (Alli-n-son), I'm Lovin' it Fridays (TidyMom), Friday Favorites (Simply Sweet Home), Latest & Greatest Friday (Days of Chalk and Chocolate), Bacon Time, Fusion Friday (Jane Deere Blog).

DIY Magnet Organizational Board

2012-02-13T06:00:00.002-06:00

Magnet Organization Board
the place to put all your coupons/reciepts/notes and more...

I don't know how you keep track of all your coupons, notes, shopping lists, receipts and all the other little odds and ends that seem to get ~~stock piled~~ collected on a day-to-day basis but at our house...all those little "things" kept piling up in stack on my kitchen counter or written on sticky notes and slapped on the fridge or cabinet door or sometimes to Mr. AKMs forehead :)

There was no true rhyme or reason to how it was handled. It was more of a bad habit than anything. Well, I decided it was high time to put the bad habit to rest!

I absolutly LOVE how colorful it is...and that EVERYTHING is in one place! LOVE IT!

So here is how it came to be...

I had the black frame already and had been trying to figure out what I wanted to do with it. Then my sister mentioned wanting to make a magnet board for her daughter...and I thought "I can do that!" But I honestly didn't know where I would put one...then my mom purchased the AWESOME Michael Miller fabric from Hypernoodle. She has the CUTEST fabric like EVER! If you are into sewing you must go check out the stuff on her website. You won' be dissappointed.

Anyway, back to my story...the minute I saw the fabric I knew what I had to do...so I ran to Lowes to get me a sheet of metal. And then it went something like this...

AKM Note: Please wear gloves when cutting the sheet metal as the edges can get pretty sharp...not that the new blood stain on the work bench is mine or anything.

Then step back, smile and admire all your handi-work!

I am excited to finally have a little organization going in my life...and a bright, happy place to put it all!

What are some of your favorite ways to organize your clutter in the kitchen?

You may find this post partying in the following places:

Monday: Debbie Doos - The Girl Creative - Skip to My Lou - Craft O Maniac - Lisa's Craft Blog - The DIY Show Off -Everything Under the Moon

Tuesday: Not Just A Housewife - My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia - Clean and Scentsible - Crazy For Crust - recipes - Uncommon Designs

Wednesday: Savvy Southern Style - Blue Cricket Design - Seven Thirty-Three - Someday Crafts - Michele Raven Designs/

Thursday: Delightful Order - Something Swanky - Recipes - The How To Mommy - A Little Nosh

Small Changes = Big Impact

2012-02-09T06:00:00.006-06:00

Adding Ledges to the Staircase

For 3 long years I have looked at this space in my home and hated it. Like, every time I walked thru the entry way or rounded the corner to head up the stairs I would literally groan to myself at my displeasure in this "space". At one point I tried putting large frames filled with family photos there thinking that looking at all of our happy smiling faces would make me love this wall more. NOT! In fact, it made me hate it even more for being so dark and dreary and not allowing me to see our smiling faces without grabbing a flashlight. Ugh!

Eventually the frames came down and the wall went bare. It was a sad, empty space at the bottom of our stairs. No smiling faces...no pictures or art...just a wall of nothingness.

BORING!

Eventually I hung some mirrors in an effort to "brighten" the space a bit with some reflective light.

I felt like it was improving...but it was still lack-luster. (see how dark it is...UGH)

Until my mom decided to re-decorate her living room that is...and then I got to have the cast-offs. WOOHOOO! Nothing like scoring some FREE decorations!

She had these ledges that she bought from Pottery Barn several years ago that she was no longer using. Ummm...SCORE! At 3 feet each, these babies proved to the the perfect addition to my sad, empty space.

So we Mr. AKM busted out some power tools and a level and went to work.

After finding only ONE stud to work with in a 3 foot space...WTH? I thought that there were supposed to be studs every 16"? HA! Now that would be fun to have "studs" lined up every 16" wouldn't it? Mine would go something like this...Ryan Reynolds, Ryan Gossling, Patrick Dempsey...Oh, yea, and Mr. AKM too! Love ya babe!

Sorry...I got a little sidetracked on the stud finder...so we only had the one stud to work with; therefore, we had to put some anchors in to support the other side of the bracket. I'd show you photos of this, but I'm a bit embarrassed to show you the ~~major holes~~ mistakes that we made trying to accomplish this. Suffice to say, these babies are NOT coming down anytime in the next millennium...in fact, if we move, these just might need to stay behind. I'm just sayin'.

In the end...it was so worth the swiss cheese effect that our wall now sports...

And this is what I see when I walk down my stairs now...

Its the small things in life that make my heart go pitter patter. And because Valentines Day is just around the corner, I traded out my photo mats and replaced them with red ones...I heart them :)

So what do you think of the space now?

Do you have any projects that you completed for absoluty FREE from someone elses cast offs? I'd love to hear/see them!

You may find this post partying in the following places:

Monday: Debbie Doos - The Girl Creative - Skip to My Lou - Craft O Maniac - Lisa's Craft Blog - The DIY Show Off -Everything Under the Moon

Tuesday: Not Just A Housewife - My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia - Clean and Scentsible - Crazy For Crust - recipes - Uncommon Designs

Wednesday: Savvy Southern Style - Blue Cricket Design - Seven Thirty-Three - Someday Crafts - Michele Raven Designs/

Thursday: Delightful Order - Something Swanky - Recipes - The How To Mommy - A Little Nosh

I'm Lovin' it Fridays (TidyMom), Friday Favorites (Simply Sweet Home), Latest & Greatest Friday (Days of Chalk and Chocolate), Bacon Time, Fusion Friday (Jane Deere Blog).

I've been featured - Cheap Crafty Mama

2012-02-07T11:19:00.000-06:00

I am so excited! My Thin Mint Cookie Truffles have been featured! YEA ME!

Go check it out at Cheap Crafty Mama's ! Her blog is pretty darn awesome!

Bake Me Happy - Peanut Butter Swirled Brownies

2012-02-07T06:00:00.012-06:00

It seems that lately the only thing on my mind is desserts.

What kind can I make and when am I gonna eat them.

That's it.

Everything else seems to get lost in my thoughts of chocolate, cakes, brownies, truffles and the occasional cupcake.

Like yesterday...it was Super Bowl Sunday and everyone around me was getting all caught up in the Pre-Game shows and the chips, dips, wings and big bowls of chili.

I, on the other hand, was lost some where in a swirl of peanut butter and chocolate. I dug through my kitchen frantically looking for some Reese's peanut butter cups to satiate my craving.

But found none. UGH!

When out of the corner of my eye, I spotted my jar of Peter Pan Honey Roasted Peanut Butter. Have you had this stuff? I seriously love it. Like floating red hearts in the sky kinda love. It is totally swoon worthy!

I figured I would just dunk a chocolate bar in the jar of peanut butter and shovel it in my face. You know, old school style. Pre-Reese's Peanut Butter cup style. I admit it, I've been known to do this on occasion.

Its cool, I'm not embarrassed about it.

One problem, NO CHOCOLATE BARS! What tha? I started to jump in my truck and drive off to the nearest grocery store and buy a pound of them when it hits me...

BROWNIES! Oh yea bay-bee! My fail safe dessert. They never fail to deliver all my hearts sweetest desires of rich dark, gooey chocolate. They are faithful like that and I love them for it.

So I busted out my tried and true recipe. I've talked about this here in case you missed it :) And mixed it all up and dumped it into my brownie pan.

I seriously saw the jar of peanut butter give me the "come hither" look while curling its finger at me gesturing for me to come and get it. It begged me to put it into my brownie batter. How could I deny it this wish?

And so I did! And then I ate them...and felt good about it. So good, I even shared a few...and they felt good about them too :)

Peanut Butter Swirled Brownies

by AKM designs and delights adapted from King Arthur Flour

Keywords: peanut butter chocolate brownie

Ingredients (12 large brownies)

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
2 1/4 c. sugar
4 large eggs
1 1/4 c. Double-Dutch Dark Cocoa
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp espresso powder - I use Starbucks Via
1 TB vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
2 c. Ghirardelli dark chocolate chocolate chips
1/4 c. Peter Pan Honey Roasted Peanut Butter (or any other kind you may have)

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a 9" x 13" pan

In a medium-sized microwave-safe bowl, or in a saucepan set over low heat, melt the butter, then add the sugar and stir to combine. Or simply combine the butter and sugar, and heat, stirring, until the butter is melted. Continue to heat (or microwave) briefly, just until the mixture is hot (about 110°F to 120°F), but not bubbling; it'll become shiny looking as you stir it. Heating the mixture to this point will dissolve more of the sugar, which will yield a shiny top crust on your brownies.

While the sugar heats a second time, crack the 4 eggs into a bowl, and beat them with the cocoa, salt, baking powder, espresso powder, and vanilla till smooth.

Add the hot butter/sugar mixture, stirring until smooth.

Add the flour and chips, again stirring until smooth. Note: If you want the chips to remain intact in the baked brownies, rather than melting in, let the batter cool in the bowl for about 20 minutes before stirring in the chips.

Spoon the batter into a lightly greased 9" x 13" pan.

Melt Peanut Butter in a microwave safe bowl for approximately 30 seconds. You want in to be the consistency of syrup.

Drizzle thick lines over brownie batter and pull through with a knife to "infuse" into batter.

Bake the brownies for about 30 minutes, until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean, or with just a few moist crumbs clinging to it. The brownies should feel set on the edges, and the center should look very moist, but not uncooked. Remove them from the oven and cool on a rack before cutting and serving.

Enjoy with an ice cold glass of moo-juice (milk)!

So where has your head been lately? Are you dreaming up new decorating ideas or ways to decorate your your dessert ideas?

You may find this post partying in the following places:

Monday: Debbie Doos - The Girl Creative - Skip to My Lou - Craft O Maniac - Lisa's Craft Blog - The DIY Show Off -Everything Under the Moon

Tuesday: Not Just A Housewife - My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia - Clean and Scentsible - Crazy For Crust - recipes - Uncommon Designs

Wednesday: Savvy Southern Style - Blue Cricket Design - Seven Thirty-Three - Someday Crafts - Michele Raven Designs/

Thursday: Delightful Order - Something Swanky - Recipes - The How To Mommy - A Little Nosh

I'm Lovin' it Fridays (TidyMom), Friday Favorites (Simply Sweet Home), Latest & Greatest Friday (Days of Chalk and Chocolate), Bacon Time, Fusion Friday (Jane Deere Blog).

Bake Me Happy...Red Velvet White Chocolate Cheesecake (for two)

2012-02-03T06:00:00.008-06:00

I’m just going to say it…I’ve never been a huge fan of Red Velvet Cake.

There, I said it. It’s out there and now I can’t take it back.

Whew! It feels so much better to just let it out.

I’ve been feeling weird or like something is off with me with all the Red Velvet recipes blowing up the Internet on blogs and Pinterest and me NOT wanting to take part in the hoop-la. I mean EVERYONE seems to LOVE this Red Velvet craze.

Except me.

Then, I came across this recipe at Angie's Sweet Natured Things for Red Velvet White Chocolate Cheesecakes for two. Ummm…I totally love cheesecake…AND white chocolate. And these are just so stinking cute. How could I NOT want to make them??? I showed the recipe to Mr. AKM all excited to make it for the two of us to have after a romantic dinner for TWO. I’m thinking candle light…a bottle of wine…me an my man dining al fresco on our patio surrounded by twinkle lights…maybe some Chris Issak or David Gray playing in the background the smell of fresh roses in the air (hint, hint babe)…are you with me here ladies?

Like I said, I showed him the recipe thinking he’d be all like “Yea babe, that’s awesome…everything you make tastes like heaven in my mouth”. That would be the appropriate thing to say in my opinion.

That’s not how it happened.

Instead he says (and I quote) “sure, make it but I HATE Red Velvet…it tastes like CRAP!” Whah? My entire romantic setting just flew off the table and smashed on the floor.

Hate is a pretty strong word here peeps. I mean, I don’t love it, but hate???? WOW!

And in that instant I knew…I had to make it my personal mission to “change” him. I had to…no I needed to prove him wrong! Sure that’s not the mature thing to do but after 14 ½ years of marriage I feel that I’m entitled to proving him wrong occasionally.

And guess what???

I DID! In fact, I even got my little cheesecake "hating" son to fall in love with this minature piece of Red Velvet and White Chocolate Heaven on earth!

I'm just THAT awesome!

I won't lie...making this was a bit time consuming. I was fooled into thinking that making 2 "small" cheesecakes would equal less time in kitchen...not that case.

But so completely worth the effort.

Red Velvet White Chocolate Cheesecake - For 2

by Angi McCarthy at AKM designs and delights

Keywords: White Chocolate Cream Cheese Red Velvet cake

Ingredients (2 - 4/12" Cheesecakes)

White Chocolate Cheesecake Layer

1 ounce white chocolate
1 ounce heavy cream
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
2 tablespoons sugar
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Red Velvet Cake

1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/4 cup sugar
1 egg white
1 teaspoon red food coloring
2 teaspoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons cake flour
1/8 teaspoon salt

White Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting

1 ounce white chocolate
1 tablespoon heavy cream
2 ounces cream cheese, softened
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
2/3 cup powdered sugar
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons buttermilk
2 tablespoons sour cream
1/8 teaspoon white vinegar

Instructions

White Chocolate Cheesecake Layer

Pre-heat oven to 300 degrees. Butter two wells of a small cheesecake pan. (I recommend this one).

Melt white chocolate with heavy cream either in a double boiler or in the microwave in 15 second intervals, stirring until smooth. Set aside to cool.

Beat together cream cheese and sugar on medium speed until smooth. Add egg, lemon juice, and vanilla, mixing on medium-low speed until well blended. Finally, add melted white chocolate and mix on low until incorporated.

Divide batter between the two cheesecake wells. Bake until set, approximately 15 minutes.

Allow cheesecake to cool to room temperature, then refrigerate at least two hours

Red Velvet Cake

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Butter two wells of a mini cheesecake pan.

Cream together butter and sugar on medium-high until light and fluffy. Add egg white and continue beating until thoroughly combined.

With mixer off, add food coloring and cocoa powder. Mix on low until incorporated, then beat on medium-high for two minutes.

Sift together flour, salt, and baking soda. Mix together vanilla extract and buttermilk. Alternate adding half of dry ingredients with half of buttermilk/vanilla mixture to the butter mixture, beating on medium until combined after each addition. Mix in sour cream and vinegar on low speed until combined.

Divide batter between the two prepared wells. Bake until cakes test done with a toothpick, 20-25 minutes. Allow cakes to cool for about five minutes in the pan, then transfer to a cooling rack to complete cooling.

White Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting

Melt white chocolate together with heavy cream in either a double boiler or in the microwave in 15 second increments. Set aside to cool.

Beat together cream cheese and butter until thoroughly combined. Beat in melted white chocolate. Add powdered sugar in batches, beating with each addition. If a stiffer frosting is desired, add additional powdered sugar.

Assembly

white chocolate shavings

powdered red food coloring (optional)

cocoa powder (optional)

If necessary, level mini-red velvet cakes, then cut each cake into two halves using a serrated knife.

Place one chilled cheesecake layer between two layers of cake.

Cover each cake with a thin crumb coat of frosting to lock in any loose crumbs, then chill for at least 30 minutes. Apply a final coat of frosting and garnish with white chocolate shavings. If desired, sprinkle with powdered red food coloring or cocoa powder.

Refrigerate until ready to serve.

In the spirit of love, go forth and make this cheesecake for someone you love. You will be glad you did!

Reclaimed Wood Art Display

2012-02-01T06:24:00.000-06:00

About a year ago a came across a picture in a Pottery Barn Kids catalog of a canvas with a caterpillar on it. While the canvas was adorable in itself what caught my eye was the manner in which it was displayed. The canvas was on a "frame" made of reclaimed barn wood or pallet wood. Sah-WEET! I was enamored with this display instantly. (cue the floating hearts here)

Since that time, I have been (1) trying to determine a place in my home where I could use this type of display for a print and (2) trying to find a print I would want to use. These things take time people...you understand. You can't just rush into these things all willy-nilly like.

Well, a few weeks ago when I was playing around in some Linky Parties and you know once you do that you get sucked in for like hours looking at all the awesome-ness that OTHER people come up with and(shhhh...don't tell Mr. AKM) I came across some super fabulous Kitchen Wall Printables here at Over the Moon. SWOON! I IMMEDIATELY knew that these were the prints that my heart has been longing for. And that these would be so sweetly displayed on some reclaimed wood frames.

Squealls!!!

After deciding that I wanted the prints to be 11 x 14 (due to some art canvas's I already had on hand, i.e. no need to spend money) I sent the file off to Shutterfly and eagerly awaited the receipt of my prints. While I ~~impatiently~~ waited, I started the process of making my displays. We had some reclaimed wood from a deck that Mr. AKM ripped apart so...I cut 3 planks for each display to the size I desired. Then sanded and stained each using this new shade of Minwax Stain - Weathered Oak. Have you seen this color? LOVE IT! It is my new fav stain! It has kinda a gray/brown tint to it....like weathered oak. Go figure?!

This is what the planks looked like after sanding and staining.

Isn't that color AWESOME! Sigh...

Then we Mr. AKM cut down some 1/4" plywood we had on hand for support for the back...

He went kinda crazy with the screws...he likes to use ~~his~~ my son's new drill. I was gonna add some silly quip about how he likes to "screw" things but I'm not in the mood for hate mail...but we are all grown-ups here right?

After he "screwed" the backing on, I added some picture hanger thingies (yes, that is the technical term) so that I could attach it to the wall. Like, duh!

Then my pictures arrived...OH HAPPY DAY!

I grabbed my little jar of Mod Podge and a sponge brush...

Slapped it on the front of some art canvas and stuck my picture right on to it. Easy Peasy!

I was so excited that I forgot to take a picture of this. Bad blogger...I know. I am hanging my head in shame as I type this out to you.

So I stared at my finished canvas's for 'bout an hour trying to figure out how I was going to get them on my display board. And then I had a major A-HA! Moment! I can use those totally cool little Command Strip thingies (again, yes, that is the technical term). That way if I ever want to change them out, oh say to put holiday specific pictures up..I TOTALLY CAN! Wooohooooo! Can I get a HELL YEA here ladies?

Don't you love these things? They so totally ROCK!

I put one set on the top and one on the bottom and...

I so totally heart them! My heart is all a-flutter even now. Swoon!

Total cost - $18.00! Not bad for some serious eye candy if you ask me!

What do you think? Is this something you would make for your house? Where would you use it at?

You may find this post partying in the following places:

Monday: Debbie Doos - The Girl Creative - Skip to My Lou - Craft O Maniac - Lisa's Craft Blog - The DIY Show Off -Everything Under the Moon

Tuesday: Not Just A Housewife - My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia - Clean and Scentsible - Crazy For Crust - recipes

Wednesday: Savvy Southern Style - Blue Cricket Design - Seven Thirty-Three - Someday Crafts - Michele Raven Designs/

Thursday: Delightful Order - Something Swanky - Recipes - The How To Mommy - A Little Nosh

I'm Lovin' it Fridays (TidyMom), Friday Favorites (Simply Sweet Home), Latest & Greatest Friday (Days of Chalk and Chocolate), Bacon Time, Fusion Friday (Jane Deere Blog).

Bake Me Happy...Thin Mint CookieTruffles

2012-01-30T12:28:00.002-06:00

Easy Thin Mint Truffles

●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●

I did a bad, bad thing.

I bought a box of Thin Mint Girl Scout cookies...and then I ate them. The whole. stinking. box! Yup, I sure did.

And you know what else? I don't feel bad about it. I have NO guilt what.so.EVER! NONE! With every bite I took, I reminded myself that I was supporting a great society by eating them. A society that EMPOWERS girls to do more...to get involved in their community and to help others. So essentially, I was helping others by eating cookies. I like the way that sounds, don't you?

And since I am SUCH an awesome supporter of the ~~Thin Mint~~ Girl Scout ~~Cookies~~ Society, I not only bought from one Girl Scout but TWO! Yea, I'm awesome like that. Which means that I now have enough cookies to feed a small army.

My first thought was to freeze them in hopes that I would forget about them but quickly realized that the freezer only makes the cookies cold which actually inhanced the flavor. UGH! This simply will not do! I CAN NOT have these in my home or I will proceed to eat every last box of them necessitating the need for more TRX classes (which you can read about here). Again...this simply will NOT do!

Soooo....I had to come up with something I could do with them ASAP!

And I did what any good food blogger would do.

I jumped on Pinterest.

Oh yea I did! Then I proceeded to waste an hour of my life looking at all the things that other people create and suddenly felt inadequate. So I soothed myself with a few more Thin Mint Cookies...again HELPING a great society. Did you know that there are like a meell-ion recipes out there for Thin Mint cookies? I had NO idea! GHAH!

I came across one for Thin Mint Truffles and knew that those were the ones to make (mostly because its the only one I had all the ingredients for).

Add then I made them...and we ate them!

End of story!

So heres the recipe...Now go make your own and be a GREAT supporter of the Girl Scouts!

Easy Thin Mint Cookie Truffles

Ingredients

1 (9 ounce) package Girl Scout Thin Mint Cookies, divided
1 (4 ounce) package PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened
2 (8 ounce) packages BAKER’S Dark Chocolate Baking Chocolate, melted

Directions

Crush cookies to fine crumbs in food processor. (Cookies can also be finely crushed in a resealable plastic bag using a rolling pin.) Add cream cheese; mix until well blended.
Roll cookie mixture into balls, about 1-inch in diameter. Place on cookie sheet lined with wax paper.
Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Dip balls in chocolate using toothpicks; place on wax paper-covered baking sheet. (Any leftover chocolate can be stored at room temperature for another use.) Sprinkle with reserved cookie crumbs or your favorite sprinkles immediately after dipping.
Refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour. Store leftover truffles, covered, in refrigerator. Yea, like there will be an left to store. Uhm...NOT!

So tell me, what do you do with your Girl Scout cookies? Do you just eat them straight from the box or do you conjur up some new recipe?

You may find this post partying in the following places:

Monday: Debbie Doos - The Girl Creative - Skip to My Lou - Craft O Maniac - Lisa's Craft Blog - The DIY Show Off -Everything Under the Moon

Tuesday: Not Just A Housewife - My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia - Clean and Scentsible - Crazy For Crust - recipes

Wednesday: Savvy Southern Style - Blue Cricket Design - Seven Thirty-Three - Someday Crafts - Michele Raven Designs/

Thursday: Delightful Order - Something Swanky - Recipes - The How To Mommy - A Little Nosh

I'm Lovin' it Fridays (TidyMom), Friday Favorites (Simply Sweet Home), Latest & Greatest Friday (Days of Chalk and Chocolate), Bacon Time, Fusion Friday (Jane Deere Blog).

Bake Me Happy - Cinnnamon Chip Banana Bread

2012-01-24T09:03:00.001-06:00

Best Banana Bread EVER

●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●

(infused with Cinnamon Chips)

So I baked banana bread...and then Gremlins ate it.

True Story.

I had the intentions of getting up this morning and taking pictures of my beautiful creation whilst the morning sunlight was streaming though the windows casting a sort-of "ethereal" glow.

That didn't happen.

Instead, I got up this morning and this is what was left.

WTH? Do I have gremlins that sneak into my kitchen at night and devour my food while I sleep?

I'm seriously concerned about this now people. When I left the kitchen last, there were only TWO slices missing...TWO! This morning I come in and there are only two slices REMAINING!

Ummm....I am hopeful that this bread was so stinking good that the 3 men in my life could not resist the temptation to WAIT until I was able to take some photos of it and that I do not need to be concerned about midnight prowlers in my kitchen.

And that is what I am going to go with...that this is the BEST banana bread EVER!

How did it come to be you ask?

Well, I had 3 rotten bananas sitting in my fruit basket. My intention was to make chocolate chip banana bread; however, when I went to get out my chocolate chips. There were none. I'm blaming that one on my gremlins too. It wasn't me that ate them...I swear it! Instead, I found a leftover bag of cinnamon chips from when I baked these. Yumm-ERS!

So I tossed in a cup of the cinnamon chips and there you have it folks...the Best Banana Bread EVER!

Cinnamon Chip Banana Bread

(adapted from Cooking Light)

Ingredients:

1 c. sugar

¼ c light butter – softened

3 mashed, ripe bananas

¼ c. milk

¼ sour cream

2 large egg whites

1 c. wheat flour

1 c. all purpose flour

1 tsp. baking soda

½ tsp. salt

½ c. cinnamon chips (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°.

2. Combine sugar and butter in a bowl; beat at medium speed of a mixer until well-blended. Add banana, milk, sour cream, and egg whites; beat well, and set aside.

3. Combine flour, baking soda, and salt; stir well. Add dry ingredients to creamed mixture, beating until blended.

4. Spoon batter into 4 (5 x 2 1/2-inch) miniature loaf pans coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 45 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Let cool in pans 10 minutes on a wire rack; remove from pans. Let cool completely on wire racks.

5. Note: To make one 9-inch loaf, spoon batter into a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan coated with cooking spray; bake at 350º for 1 hour and 10 minutes. Yield: 1 loaf, 20 servings (serving size: 1 slice).

You may find this post partying in the following places:

Monday: Debbie Doos - The Girl Creative - Skip to My Lou - Craft O Maniac - Lisa's Craft Blog - The DIY Show Off -Everything Under the Moon

Tuesday: Not Just A Housewife - My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia - Clean and Scentsible - Crazy For Crust - recipes

Wednesday: Savvy Southern Style - Blue Cricket Design - Seven Thirty-Three - Someday Crafts - Michele Raven Designs/

Thursday: Delightful Order - Something Swanky - Recipes - The How To Mommy - A Little Nosh

I'm Lovin' it Fridays (TidyMom), Friday Favorites (Simply Sweet Home), Latest & Greatest Friday (Days of Chalk and Chocolate), Bacon Time, Fusion Friday (Jane Deere Blog).

First project of 2012 - FINISHED!!

2012-01-23T10:14:00.001-06:00

Painting the Front Door

●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●

(Project...COMPLETE)

Cue the angels singing...I have FINISHED the front door! My first project of 2012 COMPLETE! Wow...gosh...I just didn't think it would ever happen. Oh my gosh...who do I thank first? Let me see...my husband, Mr. AKM for always standing by me and supporting me when I'm being so totally OCD that no one else can stand me...my kids for telling me that the color is AWESOME even though they would prefer that I paint it camouflage or orange or any other color besides turquoise blue :) But most importantly I want to thank Wagner for making the most incredible paint sprayer like EVER! Seriously, having that paint sprayer made this project soooo totally worth my time! LOVE IT! You can read all about this little piece of paint spray heaven here. It took me all of 10 minutes TOPS to paint this door. It sprayed on like velvet. 2 coats and it was over...I almost felt a little cheated that I didn't get to spend more time getting to know my paint sprayer better.

So here is a before in case you forgot what it looked like...

and now...lots of photo love for you....

Remember these nasty scratches???

TOTALLY GONE! Isn't that awesome? I so love this color! I want EVERY door in my house this color!

Check it out in all it's glory...

I love how the colors from the rug are all tied together now. I was a bit nervous when I saw the door finished leaning against the wall in the garage but having it hung up in my entry...I. AM. IN. LU-OVE! I just love the pop of color it gives to the space don't you?

So tell me, what do you think of it? Do you think you could bring a bright pop of color to an area in your home?

You may find this post partying in the following places:

Monday: Debbie Doos - The Girl Creative - Skip to My Lou - Craft O Maniac - Lisa's Craft Blog - The DIY Show Off -Everything Under the Moon

Tuesday: Not Just A Housewife - My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia - Clean and Scentsible - Crazy For Crust - recipes

Wednesday: Savvy Southern Style - Blue Cricket Design - Seven Thirty-Three - Someday Crafts - Michele Raven Designs/

Thursday: Delightful Order - Something Swanky - Recipes - The How To Mommy - A Little Nosh

I'm Lovin' it Fridays (TidyMom), Friday Favorites (Simply Sweet Home), Latest & Greatest Friday (Days of Chalk and Chocolate), Bacon Time, Fusion Friday (Jane Deere Blog).

Organization = Life Simplified

2012-01-19T08:00:00.000-06:00

Dry Erase Love

●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●

(meal planning…SIMPLIFIED)

Dry Erase...its like the greatest thing EVER invented. I mean seriously...who doesn't love it? Its a board that you can write on and wipe off of endlessly. There is NO waste involved what-so-ever. See! It's even ECO friendly. Sooo many reasons to love dry erase boards. My reason for loving THIS dry erase board is because it makes it easy for me to plan our weekly meals...and if something changes (as it always seems to) I can just wipe it off and write in the "update" to our menu. SO SIMPLE! I don't have to print out a new menu sheet or have to deal with cross outs (I'm fairly anal about things like that). Its like whatever was there before never. even. existed! Sah-weet!

I know that everyone loves to make printouts to help keep themselves organized and I'm all up in that too but I found that I never really "did" print out that menu planner that I created. I was always writing it on a sticky note and slapping it on the fridge and then it would fall off and slide under the fridge. I got kind of tired of getting down on my hands and knees and looking under the fridge to see what was on the dinner menu for Thursday night. It wasn't fun people. And lets face it...my knees aren't as young as they used to be so that tile floor was getting a bit hard for me to handle.

So the other day when I was wandering around Target all by my lonesome, I found myself wandering down the calendar isle (I have a mild addiction to day planners...but that's a whole different story). When out of the corner of my eye, I spy this.

I knew in an instant that it was meant to be mine. We were destined to be one. Love at first site. I will not lie, the first thing that caught my attention was the pink and the red of it all.

The 2nd thing that caught my eye...the price tag! For $6.99 I could own this little piece of pink, red and white dry erase heaven AND it comes with a pad of paper for me to stick on the fridge next to it or under it or wherever I want to keep track of the grocery items that I need! SCORE! Dry erase AND a pad of paper...its a total win / win in my book!

Just check it out in it's new home...

Maybe it's because love is in the air with Valentines Day coming and all but there was just something about the pink and red flowers that drew me in. Are you feeling the love too??

Shut the Front Door!

2012-01-17T08:00:00.001-06:00

Painting the Front Door

●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●

(making progress or is it progress in the making?)

So when does a project ever go as planned? Uhm, like NEVER! I thought that choosing the front door as my first project of 2012 would be a smart, easy project to undertake. That was my first mistake...thinking. Ugh!

So it started of pretty plain and simple. Take the door off the hinges, remove all hardware and start sanding. This went off without a hitch, for the most part. I started using 120 grit sand paper to take the finish off but quickly realized that the people who owned our home before us must've put like 20 layers of shellac on this baby. Jeesh! So I busted out some 80 grit paper and went to town again. After about an hour of this, I removed as much of the shellac as I was going to be able to. Then it was time to start filling in all the lovely gouges that my dog left for me. How sweet he is...

This part too went off without a hitch. I just used some standard wood filler and slapped it on there with a putty knife. Easy breezy lemon squeezy. Then I let it dry and sanded it again. I think I may have developed tendonitis in my right shoulder from using my palm sander a little too much...if you know-what-i-mean :)

So that part was finished. The door went back on the hinges to wait for my much anticipated paint sprayer to arrive.

The paint sprayer arrived in the middle of the week…then Mr. AKM ditched us for the weekend alas I had to WAIT (I do not wait well when I have a project that I want to finish). So Sunday arrived and so too did Mr. AKM. Squeals! I danced around like a little girl that needed to go to the potty whilst I waited (impatiently) for him to take the door back down again so that I could start that painting process.

Sir grumpiness with the door, kindly (yea, right) taping the windows up for me so I can spray on the 1^st coat of primer.

His back is to the camera because he DID NOT have a smile on his face...but I was all kinds of filled with giggles and giddiness. Can you see my paint sprayer on the tool chest to the right? Yea...such excitement!

Whilst he was finishing the taping I busted into my paint sprayer to put it all together and get it ready for priming. I filled up the little paint can with primer. This is the stuff I used. Valspar Multi-purpose primer.

I have found it to be the best stuff EVER for priming just about anything but especially slick surfaces like this (thanks previous owners for the shellac covered door). It says that you don't have to sand...but obviously I needed to.

So back to the paint gun...I got it all put together and then realized that something wasn't right. The spray nozzle did not look like what was in the picture. After further inspection, I realized that it was missing the air cap...the very piece that is needed to adjust the spray. (Insert small temper tantrum here). By this point, I no longer have a smile on my face. I am quite devastated to be honest. After I beat myself up for not checking the contents of the box when it arrived, I decided to move forward with priming my door the old fashioned way...brushes and foam rollers BAY-BEEE.

So that is what it looks like as of today...but reattached to my front door. It's a work in progress. I have spoken to the wonderful people at GleemPaint.com about the missing piece from my paint sprayer and they are rushing it to me ASAP! LOVE THEM!

With a hope and a prayer, this door will soon look like this...

Source

Stay tuned for more! I promise to show you the big reveal next week!

Do you have any projects that take longer than you expected? I'd love to hear about them...you know misery loves company and all :)

Bake Me Happy...Butter Vanilla Cake

2012-01-16T10:10:00.001-06:00

Butter Vanilla Cake

●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●

(with Semi-sweet chocolate frosting)

So Mr. AKM ditched the fam and went out of town this past weekend to help my dad move his deer camp from one lease to another. From what I understand, they both worked their butts off to get it done in two short days. (snort). Um, yea….ok. Thats why 2 cases of beer disappeared. I’m sure their right bicep was extremely sore from lifting those bottles of beer. Soooo….exhausting.

He came home on Sunday all scruffy faced (I guess razors don’t work in a deer cabin???), smelly (uhm, shower please) and grumpy! It was nice to have him home…really it was. Well, until the grumpy part really took hold. He was all snippy and snappy and really REALLY SNARKY! NOT COOL! He dumped us for the weekend to fend for ourselves. It was tough people! We were forced to dine on pizza and ice cream and to stay up late watching movies. What else were we supposed to do? The daddy guy was GONE! There were no rules. So we got a little wild, I admit it! And then he had the gall to come home and be GRUMPY and totally harsh our mellow? It was wrong I tell you! I had to put my foot down and let him have it.

I did what any rational woman would do in this situation to calm her savage beast.

I made cake. Not just any cake, but his all time FAVORITE cake.

Rich, buttery vanilla cake with a semi-sweet chocolate frosting. OH YUM! Some people may call it a yellow cake, but it looks more vanilla than yellow to me, plus my man really likes the taste of vanilla so I punched up the cake with an extra tablespoon of vanilla extract to help take the flavor of it over the top. It worked!

He took one bite of this cake and instantly became a calm, balanced person again.

End of story.

So the moral of this story is…the truest way to a man’s heart…really IS through his stomach. True story. Go try it today, or the next time your man harshes your mellow.

Butter Vanilla Cake:

2 sticks (1 c.) butter, softened

1½ c. all-purpose flour

1½ c. cake flour

1 T. baking powder

½ t.. salt

1¾ c. sugar

4 large eggs

2 T. vanilla extract

1¼ c. milk

Semi-sweet Chocolate Frosting:

1 lb. semisweet chocolate chips

6 T. Dark Chocolate cocoa powder

6 T. boiling water

3 sticks (1½ cups) unsalted butter, at room temperature

½ c. powdered sugar, sifted

Pinch of salt

1. To make the cakes, preheat oven to 350˚ degrees. Line the bottoms of two 9-inch round cake pans with parchment paper. Butter and flour the edges of the pans, tapping out the excess; set aside. In a medium bowl, combine the all-purpose flour, cake flour, baking powder, and salt; whisk together to blend well and set aside.

2. In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the butter and sugar. Beat on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, scraping down the bowl as needed. Mix in the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Blend in the vanilla. With the mixer on low speed, add in the dry ingredients in three additions, alternating with the milk. Beat each addition just until incorporated.

3. Divide the batter between the prepared baking pans. Bake, rotating the pans halfway through baking, until the cakes are golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 30-35 minutes. Transfer the pans to a wire rack and let cool 20 minutes. Run a knife around the edge of the pans to help remove the cakes. Invert the cakes onto the rack and peel off the parchment. Let the cakes cool completely before frosting.

Frosting Directions:

To make the frosting, place the chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Heat, stirring occasionally, until the chocolate has melted. Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature, about 25-30 minutes. Meanwhile, combine the cocoa powder and boiling water in a small bowl; stir until the cocoa is dissolved.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter, powdered sugar and salt on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, 3-4 minutes. Add the melted chocolate; beat on low speed until combined, 1-2 minutes. Beat in the cocoa mixture until well blended. (Note: My frosting was still a bit runny for decorating at this point. I let it cool longer before frosting the cake so it could firm up slightly.)

To assemble the cake, level each cake and then cut each cake in half. Place one of the cake layers on a serving platter. Top with 1 cup of the chocolate frosting and smooth over the top of the cake. Repeat 2 more times, topping with the remaining cake layer. Frost the top and sides of the cake with the remaining frosting as desired. Add sprinkles! Refrigerate, covered, for up to 3 days. Let come to room temperature at least 30 minutes before serving. Enjoy!

You may find this post partying in the following places:

Monday: Debbie Doos - The Girl Creative - Skip to My Lou - Craft O Maniac - Lisa's Craft Blog - The DIY Show Off -Everything Under the Moon

Tuesday: Not Just A Housewife - My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia - Clean and Scentsible - Crazy For Crust - recipes

Wednesday: Savvy Southern Style - Blue Cricket Design - Seven Thirty-Three - Someday Crafts - Michele Raven Designs/

Thursday: Delightful Order - Something Swanky - Recipes - The How To Mommy - A Little Nosh

I'm Lovin' it Fridays (TidyMom), Friday Favorites (Simply Sweet Home), Latest & Greatest Friday (Days of Chalk and Chocolate), Bacon Time, Fusion Friday (Jane Deere Blog)

Say it don't spray it...

2012-01-12T11:31:00.000-06:00

Paint Sprayer

●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●

(Wagner HVLP Conversion Paint Sprayer)

Mama got a new toy! WOOOHOOOO! I can not WAIT to bust this bad boy out and start spray painting EVERYTHING in my house. Not even the kids or the dogs are safe from this new toy. Be afraid...be very, very afraid!

Just looking at this paint sprayer makes me want to go all Tim the Tool Man Taylor with his manly Uh, Uh, UH grunts. Don't laugh...I had NO idea how to spell that sound out. LOL! But if you know Tim the Tool Man, then you KNOW the grunt I am referring too :)

My front door is about to meet its new coat of paint by way of this very sprayer! SQUEALS! I can not WAIT to see how it works. I'm so very excited!

And if it is a monumental failure, you will understand my absence while I mourn in peace.

Until then, may your head be filled with visions of spray painted Happiness!

Bake me Happy - Dark Chocolate Brownies

2012-01-10T08:00:00.003-06:00

Dark Chocolate Brownies

●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●

(infused with Raspberries and White Chocolate)

Are you the type of person to make the same New Years Resolution every year? You know the one…the one that says that THIS. IS. THE. YEAR. that I will get in shape and lose weight. Do you do that? I do! I always resolve that I will give up desserts but then that makes me all stressed out and unhappy. You do know that desserts spelled backwards is stressed right? I consider that to be a sign myself. It doesn’t take much to make me give up on that resolution now does it? HECK NO! But! I have made a valiant effort this time to get in shape…and I don’t mean the shape of an apple. I do choose to go for a more hour-glass type of shape. I don’t need to get all twiggy as I would have to give up food entirely and work out 12 hours a day to obtain that figure…and I still believe that I would look more “roundish” than “twiggish” even if I did the above mentioned types of torture to myself. NOT COOL!

However, I did start my resolution well before the New Year came into play this time. I did this through December to help combat all the “holiday” eating that I succumbed too. It’s a new type of torture. They call it TRX (Total Body Resistance Exercise). I call it the Try Really (hard to not die) Exercise. It’s CRAZY HARD! Its 45 minutes of butt busting, sweat pouring, can I actually die doing this, don’t laugh at me for crying kind of hard. But I. LOVE. IT! Yes, it’s true…I admit it. Even though I have spent the better part of a month walking around like Gumby with every single inch (to include my hair follicles) hurting. Note to self: Don’t ever let yourself get so out of shape that your body hurts like this again. Got it!?

So….while I was having one of my moments during TRX that caused my eyes to water because the sweat that was dripping into them was stinging…NO…I WAS NOT CRYING (that’s my story and I’m sticking to it)…a thought popped into my head. It was the thought of super rich, ooey gooey dark chocolate brownies infused with raspberries and white chocolate and drizzled with more dark chocolate. OH. EM. GEE! Suddenly my eyes were “stinging” a little less…my butt was “lifting” a little higher and the “Burpies” (an actual form of exercise) were a touch easier to do. I kept telling myself that if I could just make it to the end I would treat myself to just a bite of one of these decadent treats. One measly little bite…I can do this! *Do not judge me for my thoughts. It beats sitting in the corner in the fetal position sucking my thumb crying for my mommy now doesn't it* Alas, I survived yet another series of Try Really (hard to not die) Exercise.

Thus the brownies came to be.

It started with my all time favorite brownie recipe. You can find it here on King Arthur Flour's Website. Then a jar of this...

And a bag of these....

I love Ghirardelli chocolate don't you?

So just whip up your favorite brownie recipe...or you can use the boxed kind. In a pinch my go to brownie in a box is Ghirardelli's Double Chocolate. I can't tell the difference between that and the homemade stuff so if your feeling lazy or just prefer the boxed stuff thats ok!

Once you have your brownie batter all mixed up, add about a cup of the white chocolate chips in.

Mix it all up and pour the batter into your favorite pan. My all time favorite is this one from Chicago Metallics.

Do you have one like this? If not you simply MUST go get one now before going any further. Its ok, I'll wait for you. Go on. This pan makes the BEST brownies ever if your addicted to the corners like my family is. Every. Single. Brownie. has FOUR corners to enjoy. Count that...FOUR! YUM!

So now that you've got your brownie batter in the pan, heat up about 1/4 cup of the Raspberry Preserves in the microwave to "loosen" the consistency. You don't want it runny just a little smoother than straight from the jar.

Then drop them here and there by tablespoons on to your batter like so...

After that drag a knife through the batter to "infuse" the raspberry preserves into it.

Pop them in the oven according to the brownie baking directions and pace the floor while you wait for them to finish baking. You'll want to pace for the full time as it burns calories so that you can eat more brownies. This step is VERY important!

Let them cool, remove from pan and proceed to eat as many as you can with a glass of ice cold milk, or coffee or even a glass of wine.

But most of all...Enjoy them!

So tell me, what do you dream up during your killer work-outs...or just killer days in general. Do you dream up new recipes or decorating ideas? I'd love to hear about them!

You may find this post partying in the following places:

Monday: Debbie Doos - The Girl Creative - Skip to My Lou - Craft O Maniac - Lisa's Craft Blog - The DIY Show Off

Tuesday: Not Just A Housewife - My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia - Clean and Scentsible

Wednesday: Savvy Southern Style - Blue Cricket Design - Seven Thirty-Three - Someday Crafts - Michele Raven Designs/

Thursday: Delightful Order

Friday: Finding Fabulous - Chic on a Shoestring Decorating - Fingerprints on the Fridge - Shabby Nest - Whipperberry – Miss Mustard Seed - French Country Cottage

First project of 2012 - The Front Door

2012-01-07T08:00:00.001-06:00

Painting the Front Door

●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●

(Benjamin Moore – Wythe Blue)

I have struggled with the decision on what project that I wanted to tackle first during the New Year 2012. My list of projects grows by the second so this was not an easy decision to come by. Do I go with what NEEDS to be done or what I WANT to have done. Such a quandary. Need and want really are the same thing...right? I mean I WANT to be ~~skinny~~ healthy just as much as I NEED to be. See...the same thing! Mr. AKM begs to disagree though. BOOO!!! Sometimes I do not like him very much (but I still love him even when I ~~hate~~ disagree with him).

Several months ago our sweet little Australian Shepard, BlackJack, decided to do this to our front door when his cute little girlfriend (the yellow lab next door) walked by our front porch.

NOT COOL! He had never done this before, nor has he done it since. While I was pretty mad at the time about it, I decided it was fate that it happened. I had long since wanted to paint the door since we moved in but just never got around to doing it. Its been on my LONG list of to-do's for 3 years. Really I'm NOT a procrastinator. I'm Not! There were just other things that needed to be done 1st...like baking brownies or painting my toenails. A girl has to have priorities ya know :)

Sooo the dog ruined the door...then I got this sweet little coupon in the mail for a FREE pint of Benjamin Moore Paint at Ace Hardware. Umm..SCORE! So my want to paint the door turned into a "need"...see how that works out? I'd been eyeing some pretty sweet doors on Pinterest that were all sporting the same color (Benjamin Moore - Wythe Blue). Coincidence? I think not! So in about a week my front door will go from this...

To something more like this....

Cottage and Vine

Source

I just love that color don't you? It's like the PERFECT blue/green/turquoise-y shade (yes, turquoise-y is a word). LA-UVE it! So off to Ace I went and got my FREE pint-o-paint. Squeals!

This weekend I shall begin the process of painting the front door to include sanding, filling in the lovely gouges that my dog left behind, sanding some more, taping off the glass and FINALLY priming and painting it. Whew! So much for a small little door doncha think?

Tune in next week to see the progress....

DIY Pallet Wood Tray - Tutorial

2012-01-03T06:00:00.002-06:00

How We Did It

DIY Pallet Wood Tray Tutorial

This project started with a stack of pallet wood. We all know what this looks like so I did not photo this glorious stack of wood. Though I should have, it was pretty impressive. To prepare the wood we scrubbed it down with some soapy water and let it dry for several days. Then we sanded the crap out of it to give it a smooth finish. To achieve this finish we started with 80 grit and then finished with 220 grit.

Once the sanding stage was complete, we measured and cut the wood to the size desired. This can be as large or as small as you like.

Don't worry if some of the wood is not straight (as you can see ours isn't). It DOES NOT have to be perfect. In fact, you don't want it to be! These are suppose to look old, used and "vintage"! So it's okay if everything isn't totally square or lined up perfectly. Just go with it...

Then with the help of our Porter Cable finishing stapler and some wood glue we have a completed tray.

So totally Simple! And again, it is NOT perfect. We didn't worry about filling nail holes because all of those nooks and cranny's are what makes these trays have lots of "personality" :) Just like us!

Then it was time to add some handles to this beauty. We had a bag of 3/8 " rope that we picked up from Home Depot for like 8 bucks so I decided...why not? Lets use that!

I measured out where I wanted the handles to be and then took a 3/8" drill bit and drilled two holes in the fronts of each tray for handles.

I then cut the rope to the length I wanted...wrapped the ends with some duct tape to make it easier to slide through the holes...and tied off with knots.

To make sure the knots stayed "put", I applied a little Loctite liquid glue to the knots. It is IMPERATIVE that you use the liquid and NOT the gel for this project. The liquid will soak into the rope where the gel will not. Check it out!

Love IT! And it was so totally SIMPLE! In fact, I loved the look of it so much that I decided not to stain it after all. Instead, I sealed it with 3 coats of Minwax Polyurethane in the Satin finish. And Wah-LAH!

It's SUCH a great option for coffee tables, and costs about the same as your traditional run of the mill basket that you can pick up at your local home decor store. Also, think of the possibilities...

You could add a cool stencil and then sand it a bit to jazz up the top, some decorative handles, or paint the tray a fun color!

What do ya think? Could you find a way to use this simple pallet wood tutorial to build a tray of your own, for a space in your home!?

DIY Homemade Pallet Wood Tray

2012-01-02T08:02:00.004-06:00

Vintage Wood Tray

keep track of all your remotes, magazines and whatnots...

Do you have one of those coffee tables that seems to accumulate "stuff" no matter how hard you try (beg, plead, nag...complain) to get everyone to STOP putting everything that touches their hands on top of it? Do you ever wonder what to do with all the stuff that seems to gravitate to your coffee table? The magazines, the remotes, the drink coasters, kleenex boxes, toys, books....This has been a battle in my household, well, since I got married to be honest. Then it got worse once I had kids. I mean seriously guys, how hard is it to put the TV remote into the drawer NEXT to the couch? I mean you just have to lean to the right instead of to the front. Its not THAT big of a stretch. You might get a little oblique action going on. I'm just sayin'. My guys, they just don't get it. Everything must go forward. Reading a book...leave it on the coffee table. Playing with your Ipod Touch...leave it on the coffee table...blowing your nose, throw the dirty kleenex on the coffee table. UGH! (I'm so not kidding about the dirty kleenex either). YUCK! I still love them though...and I'd blame it on their mom, but thats ME! Oh where did I go wrong? It's not MY fault...they belong to their dad. It's his gene pool that they get it from.

I made the decision to STOP the madness. As in end it completely...cease it's existence. I removed the coffee table! Problem solved! Ok, I didn't really get THAT dramatic, but I wanted too :) Then my husband stomped his feet and said (in his demanding voice, snicker snicker, snort) that he would not stand for that! Yea, whatever! But I did have his attention so he was willing ~~gritting his teeth~~ to help solve the problem.

In came the idea...I saw a tray in a magazine that I thought was really cool but they wanted something like $75 bucks for it! GASP! For a tray...that is made of wood? I'm sorry folks, that is RI.DIC.U.LOUS!

We can make it for FREE! Oh yea bay-BEE! That's what I am talking about! F to the R to the E.E! All yo need is some leftover pieces of wood...or an old pallet. But just cuz it was free, don't go thinking it was all easy or nuthin like that. Mr. AKM did have to pull apart some pallets to make this happen. And from what I hear (due to his grumbling) that THAT is no easy task. OH WELL! Nobody said FREE came easy. In the end, this is what we have...

The PERFECT place for everything...except dirty, snotty tissues!

Don't you just love the variation of color? And the rope handles? Be still my heart. I'm in deep...deep LOVE with this!

You could even add a cool stencil and then sand it a bit to jazz up the top or use some decorative pulls for handles, or paint the tray a fun color and add some pretty pulls for a little girls room! The options are endless!

What do ya think? Could you find a way to use this simple pallet tray for a space in your home!? I'd love to see/hear your ideas!

Tomorrow I will be posting the tutorial on how to make these if your interested in the how to's of it all.

Update: Find Pallet Wood Tray Tutorial here.

Linking up to the following parties...go check them out

My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia

Savvy Southern Style

Blue Cricket Design

Michele Raven Designs

Finding Fabulous

Chic on a Shoestring Decorating

Fingerprints on the Fridge

Shabby Nest

Whipperberry

What to do...what to do...

2011-12-30T08:00:00.003-06:00

The DVD Dilemma...SOLVED!

It seems that every year after Christmas I am itching to organize every aspect of my life. Could it be due to the stacks and stacks of new "things" that we seem to accrue over the holiday? Perhaps. Could it be a bit of my obsessive compulsive nature coming out? I can neither confirm, nor deny that THAT has anything to do with it (snort).

Several months ago when I decided it would be a good idea to refinish our, then, media cabinet and move it to the Dining Room, I was left with these lovely boxes filled with DVDs.

It wasn't the most efficient way to store our DVDs...nor was it easy to locate a movie to watch. More often than not, we would end up with a HUGE pile of DVDs strewn all over the floor in an effort to locate the last Mission Impossible movie or Monsters, Inc...or whatever else was stored at the BOTTOM of the box (never the ones on top...no, no, no, THAT would be to easy).

Mr. AKM must have got tired of watching me twitch anytime someone would want to watch a movie (I'm sure I've mentioned before that I am ~~an obsessive~~ a bit of a neat freak) so he put a little something special under the tree for me this year...

For those of us with Major OCD issues when it comes to organization, these are like crack! I squealed with delight when I found these wrapped up for me. Each sleeve holds TWO DVDs! Sa-wooon! I. AM. IN. LOVE! After working on these for two days...a total of maybe 3 hours tops, this is what I am left with.

ROCK ON! Is that not awesome? Seriously people look at how cool that is! I went from two boxes overflowing with DVDs to one little basket...and I STILL have room left over to add more! AWESOME-SAUCE!

I used a total of 3 1/2 boxes of DVD sleeves to finish the job. Holy Crap that is a lot of DVDs! I had some issues deciding on how I wanted to divide the DVDs up. Do I do it by kids/adult/family/drama...blah blah blah or alphabetically? In the end, I decided that alphabetically would be the easiest route when it comes to looking for a movie to watch. Sooo...I pulled out some envelopes that I had and stuck a label on top with the corresponding alphabet. Totally simple! You can even use some cardstock or old file folders to make dividers. Whatever works for you!

Take a look at how neat and tidy this basket looks sitting on the shelves in my living room now...

Just looking at it makes me happy all over again! Now I need to figure out what I can store in that other basket...

So what projects do you like to tackle after Christmas? Are you all into getting organized or are you the type to stuff it all in a box and wait until next Christmas to get motivated?

Linking up to the following parties...go check them out

My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia

Savvy Southern Style

Blue Cricket Design

Michele Raven Designs

Finding Fabulous

Chic on a Shoestring Decorating

Fingerprints on the Fridge

Shabby Nest

Whipperberry

Blessings

2011-12-24T06:00:00.006-06:00

From our house to yours...

Wishing you the merriest of Christmas'! May your stockings be filled with all that you wish for!

Inspriation...

2011-12-23T10:53:00.000-06:00

Where do you find it?

Personally, this is all the inspiration that I need to paint EVERYTHING with chalkboard paint! What about you?

The True Gift is in the Giving

2011-12-19T10:15:00.002-06:00

Bringing Warmth to the Season...

A random fact about me: I am usually always cold.

It's true, I can remember as a little kid being cold a lot. My mom always thought it was because I was so skinny…but even now, 20 lbs. later, I am STILL always cold! See mom…it wasn’t cause I was “skin and bones”! Even as I sit here typing this, I have my little foot heater running to warm my toes…and it is 73 degrees outside!

I don't like to be cold and try to avoid it at all costs yet my dream is to live in Colorado. Go figure!?

Anyway...I think because I am cold so much, I LOVE hot drinks. Coffee…tea…hot cocoa. I love it all! Especially during the holidays when EVERYTHING tastes better with peppermint!

I found this recipe written down on a piece of paper in my recipe book so I thought I would give it a try…but it made SO much that I then decided I needed to share it (in an effort to NOT drink it all myself…see above mention of 20 lbs)! It is the Perfect Hot Cocoa in my opinion! It's even better with a whole bunch of whip cream, mmm....mmm...good. So go make yourself some and curl up in favorite armchair and try to stay warm. After all, its 73 degrees here!

Peppermint Hot Cocoa

6 1/2 cups powdered milk
1 - 5 oz. package of non-instant chocolate pudding mix
1 c. powdered chocolate drink mix - such as Carnation
1/2 c. powdered sugar
1/2 c. powdered creamer - I used Peppermint Mocha Creamer
3/4 c. unsweetened cocoa powder

Mix all ingredients together and pour into containers for gifting. Top with crushed mints or chocolate chips. I had some Andes Peppermint Baking Pieces so I topped mine off with those!

Top with a cute little gift tag with a note explaining how to make them: Add 1/3 cup cocoa mix to a cup of steaming hot milk...add marshmellows and Enjoy!

Recipe slightly adapted from Allrecipes.com

So what warms your soul during the holiday season??

Linking this up here...

Michele Raven Designs

Lets get crafty...

2011-12-16T08:00:00.003-06:00

This year for Christmas I we decided that all gifts given would be of the homemade persuasion. We were only allowed to use items that we had on hand. Period...no ifs, ands or buts!! Mama was SERIOUS! Do you know how creative one has to be when coming up with things to make for people out of ONLY things that we have in our possession WITHOUT spending any money? Seriously people...this was crazy...like crazy-town kinda crazy! There was some running around...some digging through old boxes...the attic got involved...some hairs got pulled out...a few bottles of wine disappeared...some things even crawled out from under beds to get all caught up in the excitement.

In the end, I realized that I needed to enlist some help. The first project on my list was for my youngest nieces. They wear these cutesy little hair ribbons all the time. You know the ones. They look like all different colored corkscrews and are attached to little hair clips or barrettes. SO CUTE! I tried putting them in my own hair a time or two but I just got strange looks...stares even. Apparently it is not "cute" when a thirty-something year old wears hair bows. Who knew?

Anyway...back to the project. Since they have so many hair ribbons, I decided they needed some place equally as cute as they are to display them on. I'm such and Awesome Aunt aren't I? I had practically everything I needed...I only lacked a "few" items...fabric...batting...ribbon...I know what your thinking...what did I have, right? Don't judge me! I had the frame, wood, paint, staples and hot glue sticks, wait, scratch that, I had to snag some of those from my mom too. Well, at least I HAD the idea! Gosh people...don't be so judgemental :) Besides, I wanted it to match their bedroom! So after I appropriated the items that I needed...the project was off and running!

(Disclaimer: Please excuse the bad lighting in the following photos as the light dissappears from my world around 4:30 these days and most of my projects happen well after that time).

Isn't it cute! It doesn't have to be used for hair ribbons....it can be used to put notes or pictures on. Anything really! I wish I had some hair ribbons to put on it to show case my AWESOME idea...but since I was laughed at for wearing mine, I have since gotten rid of them :)

So how did I do it you ask? Well, let me just show you! I had the frame. I found some fire engine red spray paint from (I don't know what project). I primed the frame in Krylon Primer Gray spray paint. Only one coat was needed...then I lightly sprayed on about 3 coats of the red...then I,

So totally EASY! Anyone can do this! From start to finish this project took all of about an hour! I say that is pretty dad-gum awesome myself!

What do you think? Think my nieces will love it as much as I do?

Linking this up to the following places:

Chic on a Shoestring Decorating

Fingerprints on the Fridge

Michele Raven Designs

Family Traditions...

2011-12-12T08:00:00.008-06:00

Rollin' in the Dough!

Gee...would'nt that be nice if we really were rollin' in the dough? As in raking in the big bucks...just stacks and stacks of cash as far as the eyes could see. I know money doesn't necessary "buy" happiness but is sure could help to make life a little more happier. I'm just sayin' is all. I mean how unhappy could one be with the ability to purchase that brand new (to me), completely re-furbished 1967 Chevrolette Convertible Corvette in Candy Apple Red? Seriously now...if I could drive one of those every day with the top down and my hair blowing in the wind I'd find it pretty hard to NOT have a smile on my face.

But that is a whole other kind of dough than the one I'm talking about today. Today, I shall share my grandmothers famous Tea Cake Cookie recipe. My mom and I make these every year at Christmas Time. They are seriously addictive...not to sweet but JUST right. I love to eat them with a tall glass of ice cold milk...or a hot cup of coffee...or tea...or because I saw them sitting there and my hand just gravitated towards them. It doesn't matter if I just ate a 9 course meal. If I see these, I MUST eat ~~six~~ one.

Don't they just becon to you? You know that they do. You wanna just reach in and grab one doncha? It's ok. I won't laugh if you tried to pull it off the screen. I wish this screen had a scratch-n-sniff application for you to upload. Just imagine the smell of the most divine sugar cookie-esque smell EVER and then double that. YUM!

This year, we deciced to let all the grandkids (my nieces, nephews and boys) make and decorate the cookies. This was a test of wills for me as I am a ~~obsessive freak~~ bit obsessive with making perfect cookies. But I do believe that they pulled off some pretty awesome master pieces if I do say so myself (and I do say so!).

It starts like this...

Measure out all your ingredients...like DUH!

Mix it all up in your candy apple red Kitchen Aid mixer (ooh la laaaa).

This step is the most important of all...sample your batter. I mean, you HAVE to make sure it tastes good after all before you turn it into cookies. Geesh!

Then roll out the dough to 1/4" thickness.

Then you grab all the little hands you have to start cutting out the dough into fun Christmas Shapes.

After the shapes are cut out and on cookie sheets, put them in the oven to bake for 12ish minutes (or until they are a light golden brown). If you were smart you'd take a picture of this step for people to see what they are suppossed to look like...but I did not experience one of those smart moments. I will blame it on the chaos involved with having seven children helping in the kitchen. That's my story and I'm STICKING TO IT!

While they are baking whip up a batch of the tea cake cookie icing...make it any color you wish...then let the little ones go to town decorating them. With any luck, they will look like this when the are all finished.

Santa would be so proud to see those waiting for him Christmas Morning with an ice cold glass of milk, don't you agree? HECK Yeah he would! Now go get your rolling pin out and start Rollin' in the Dough!

Do you have a special cookie recipe that you love to bake during the holidays? If so, I'd love to hear about it!

Tea Cake Cookies:

1 cup crisco or butter

1 1/2 cups sugar

4 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

4 1/2 cups flour

2 tablespoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon butter flavoring (optional)

Oven 350 degrees

Cream shortening and sugar together. Add eggs and vanilla - mix well.