More Laundry Room Wall Art

It's Friday!

Yay!!

What better way to celebrate...

than more talk about my laundry room!

I saw an adroable idea on etsy the other day - a Lost Socks sign!

How cute, right!

The moment I saw it, I knew I had to recreate it for my laundry room re-do!

Here it is:

This was super easy and quite inexspensive to create. I bought a wooden sign from Michael's {for like $4.50} and painted it with a navy spray paint I had in my stash. When the paint dryed, I simply Mod-Podged some green scrapbook paper to it and added the vinyl letters. To finish it, I attached twine and hung the socks waiting for their match!

{Hopefully, the dryer didn't eat them!!}

This adds a cutsie touch to a traditionally not-so-cute room - I'm pretty darn happy with it! I may go back and distress it a little, but other than that, I love it!

Have a very happy and fun weekend! I'm headed to Charleston for thrifting and yummy food with a friend! It's going to be fabulous! {Hope we find some goodies!}

Peanut Butter Bar Brownies

Have you started thinking about Valentine's Day yet?

Still unsure about what to get your sweetie?

Well, I have a SIMPLE and sure to please gift!

And, it's SUPER SWEET!

This idea came from a very sweet friend who told me about a variation of the recipe I used. When she said it was a two layer brownie with a candy bar in the center, my mind started whirling with ideas and flavor combinations.

The first one had to be peanut butter though- it's my hub's favorite!

Here's What You Need:

• Your favorite brownie recipe
• 1/2 cup chopped mini Reese's cups
• 2 large Reese's chocolate bars

I used a traditional brownie recipe I had in my recipe drawer, but you can use any your sweetie loves! You could even use a box mix if you wanted to! {Little tip: To make mixes taste

homemade, add 2 tsp. instant coffee and 1 tsp. vanilla to batter. I promise he'll never know it came from a box!} I just stirred in the chopped Reese's cups when I got the batter together.

Grease an 8x8 square pan (if you're wanting to do a 9x13, you'll have to double this recipe) and pour half the batter into the pan. Remove the candy bars' wrappers and place on top of batter. Make sure you buy the large bars {around $2/bar}, otherwise it won't fit right.

Cover the candy bars with the remaining brownie batter and bake according to your recipe's instruction.

My friend gave me the tip of reducing the cook time by 5 minutes, so that the brownies would be a little more ooey gooey. I did this and it worked perfect! Thanks so much Amanda for the awesome idea!

So, does your sweetie not really like peanut butter?

NO PROBLEM!

Try:

• Hershey or Hershey Dark
• Hershey's Cookies and Cream or Symphony
• Ghirardelli Mint, Caramel, Raspberry, etc.

Use your imagination and his favorite things to come up with the perfect recipe for your man!

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!

Parties I Linked To:

Sweet As Sugar Cookies

Someday Crafts
MOM'S CRAZY COOKING

Up Close Look At The Alphabet Wall

I just couldn't wait another second to post the alphabet wall yesterday...

So, today I'm going to take a few letters I made myself

And break them down for you.

I guess we'll go in alphabetical order - tee hee! ;)

The "E" is made of sticks. I went out into the yard, found 4 sticks that seemed to be the right size and hot glued them together. After hanging with a ribbon, I added a button to hide the nail...I hate seeing a nail!

This is actually my second attempt at an "F" - the first was wooden building block glued inside a frame. It was adorable...and it was HEAVY! So, after some thought and a little persuasion by my son {and by persuasion, I mean he broke it} I decided to make a second "F" and choose between the two. The second was my choice! I had this old book in my collection that was just falling apart...and it was a sailing story, so I thought how perfect. After attaching some burlap to canvas, I rolled a few pages from the book to form the "F." I then added the cover and title page in the bottom corner. I'm much happier with this "F!"

For the "M," I found this super cute, antique map print in the scrapbooking section at Michaels for $0.59. After framing it, I glued an "M" in the corner {it was in my collection AND was already painted!}

The "H" was made from an old sign I bought in a flea market for $1 - I bought it a while back and just fell out of love with it...so, I Mod Podged some pretty paper to it and used fabric cord trim to form the "H."

The "I" is kind of a funny story...when I was first getting my thoughts together on this wall, I wanted to use a lobster bouy for the "I." But after seeing the prices on those guys, I knew I needed to come up with a plan b! Then one night I was browsing our local Goodwill when I saw this awesome belt! {Not for wearing, mind you! ;) } So, the "I" is a belt I got for $.075 and cut to fit the space.

The "Q" was quite simple - it's a wooden letter I bought at Hobby Lobby that I wrapped some old ribbon I had on hand around. Pretty cute and easy, right!

The "Y" is one of those landscape pictures I bought in an open air market in Charleston a few months back. To jazz it up a bit, I attached it to a small canvas and glued sand around the edges to frame the picture. To finish it, I added a cute sea shell.

The "AND" is a small piece of wood I bought at Hobby Lobby for like a $1 and painted with chalkboard paint. I attached a cute ribbon and was done!

Finally, the "Z" is one of those chunky, hallow cardboard letters from Hobby Lobby that I wrapped twine around.

Once I had everything sitting in front of me, the wall really came together rather quickly. The hard part was the months of collecting, for sure! The more I look at the pictures, the less I like the anchor as the "T," so that may be changing...but overall, I'm super happy with the way it turned out!

Alphabet Wall

I have been collecting and compiling wooden, wire and metal letters...as well as supplies to make letters...for about 7 months now. And I finally have the Alphbet Wall completed in my son's play room.

The room doubles as my laundry room, so there's a slight nautical theme. For that reason, I went with hues of blue and red...and used many boat and ocean related things to act as letters!

Taa Daa!

I tried my very hardest to do this on the cheap! {Your very welcome, my dearest hubby! ;)} I wanted to add a price breakdown to show you - I tried to remember exacts, but some are approximate costs.

I'm in love with the way this turned out! It was such a BIG, boring blank wall...and now it's so fun!

{And, educational, right!}

Parties I Linked To:

Beyond The Picket Fence

C.R.A.F.T

Someday Crafts

The Country Chic Cottage

Balsamic Blue Cheese Cupcake

I know.

That title is just all wrong.

Right?

I mean, WHO would put BLUE CHEESE in a CUPCAKE!?

ahem...this girl would!

The idea was actually a challenge set by my husband. We were watching Sunday night's episode of Cupcake Wars and one of the secret ingredients contestants had to choose from was blue cheese. Of course, no one chose that!

My cute hubby didn't think I could successfully make a sweet cupcake with blue cheese as an ingredient!

Well, my dear, here it is: {And it ROCKS!}

I used one of my favorite salads as inspiration for this creation. A pear cupcake with chunks of Bosc pear and toasted walnuts throughout the cake was topped with a blue cheese cream cheese frosting and balsamic reduction drizzle.

Now, this is what I call an adult cupcake! There's not really a sharp taste of blue cheese in the frosting, you just know there's something different in there. It masks some sweetness from the cream cheese frosting and leaves a slight tang on the palette. The balsamic reduction finishes this cupcake off perfectly.

This would be a great addition to your wedding cupcake tower...it's an elegant escape from vanilla!

Homemade Dulce de Leche

I'm not sure why I've put this off for so long...

I saw a post on my favorite cupcake blog, Cupcake Project, where she made the simplest version of dulce de leche I have ever seen! And the best part? I didn't even have to stir!

All I needed:

1. One {or two} cans of Sweetened Condensed Milk
2. Crockpot filled with Water

Yup - that's it! Well, and 8 hours!

I placed my can of condensed milk (with the paper wrapper removed) in my crockpot...completely covered the can with water...and turned it on low. 8 hours later, I woke up to this smooth, rich and creamy dulce de leche!

I have never had the homemade version and wasn't a big fan of store bought, but if I was going to trust anyone, it was going to be Steph from Cupcake Project. And, she was right! It's quite wonderful, actually...besides the incredible texture, the flavor is of caramel, only less sweet and creamier. My husband hit the nail on the head when he said it tastes like a Werther's Original.

I've been eating spoonfuls all morning long! ;) Have a happy Tuesday!

Linked Up To:

Dot Dot Dot

Sweet As Sugar Cookies

Wedding Cupcake Menu

New for 2011!

A specialized Cupcake Menu featuring flavors that perfectly compliment every wedding.

Raspberry Chambord

Raspberry chambord cake with fresh raspberries baked in and topped with raspberry chambord buttercream.

Dark Chocolate Raspberry Chambord

Rich dark chocolate cake filled with a fresh raspberry preserve filling and topped with raspberry chambord buttercream.

Caramel Bonbon

Vanilla bean cupcake filled with homemade dulce de leche and topped with a white chocolate buttercream.

Chocolate Caramel Bonbon

Moist chocolate cake filled with homemade dulce de leche and topped with a white chocolate buttercream.

Strawberry Champagne

A light champagne cake with strawberries baked in and topped with a vanilla champagne buttercream.

Dark Chocolate Merlot

Rich dark chocolate cake filled with chocolate merlot ganache and topped with a merlot buttercream.

Hummingbird

A spiced banana cake full of pineapple, pecans and coconut, topped with a vanilla cream cheese frosting.

Caramel Cardamon Pistachio

Super moist pistachio cake with hints of cardamom and orange zest, filled with smooth dulce de leche and topped with a vanilla buttercream.

Something Balsamic Blue

Fresh Bosc pear cake with toasted pecans folded in, topped with a tangy blue cheese cream cheese frosting and a balsamic vinegar reduction drizzle.

These cupcakes are made using only the highest quality ingredients and start at $3/cupcake. Set up a tasting and design consultation at sweetstreetsc@aol.com and let's get started on making your wedding reception spectacular!

Click HERE to visit our full cupcake menu!

Homemade Chicken Stock

It's stock day!

I typically use the equivalent of 3 store bought cartons of chicken stock each week, so making my own just makes more sense. {Plus I get about 4 cups of chicken I can throw into dishes or make chicken salad with during the week. Having cooked chicken on hand is such a time saver and I don't have to worry about any sodium or preservatives in the chicken this way!}

The first time I made stock, I couldn't believe how easy it really is! Here's my process:

First, I gather all my ingredients.

• Whole chicken, skin removed and cut in pieces.
• Whole onion, cut in half.
• 10 celery stalks, cut in half.
• 2 cups of carrots
• 4 cloves of garlic, skins removed.
• Thyme and Peppercorns, for flavor

I then throw everything into my stock pot and just cover it with water. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer.

*See this gunk?*

After about 5 minutes of simmering, I skim the top with a large spoon to remove all that. I return to do the same thing about every 20 minutes or so.

Let it simmer for 45 minutes, then take out the chicken pieces. Let them cool slightly {so the chicken can be handled} and remove most of the meat. I place mine in a plastic container and refrigerate until I'm ready to use it...if you're not sure all chicken will be used within the next 4 days or so, freeze it! It'll still be super easy to just throw into dishes! Good idea: Make a huge chicken pot pie or casserole for dinner - that tends to use up a lot of chicken at one time!

{Ahhh...the smell of simmering stock perfumes the house better than baking bread!}

Put the bones back into your simmering stock. Leave it alone {other than the occasional fat skimming} for 3 hours. When the stock has reached a rich, golden color and has reduced by half, it is done! Strain to separate the liquid from veg and bone. Let the stock cool...then pour into plastic containers. It can be refrigerated up to a week, or frozen for up the 3 months.

I think the little work required for stock is so worth it! Not only is it richer in flavor and color than what you can buy in the store, you also know exactly what's going into it...because YOU put it there! Another great thing about making your own is you can add ingredients not typically used to enhance flavor. Last week, I saved my rubbery asparagus ends and threw those in! You could do the same with cauliflower/broccoli stalks, mushrooms, parsnips, etc.

{See how much it has reduced! Yum!}

I hope you're enjoying your weekend! Yay for Stockday... {ahem} I mean Sunday! ;)