red velvet

So I guess technically this can't count for my cupcake of the month since I already attempted the red velvet.  BUT... this red velvet definitely topped my last red velvet cupcake.  I used a recipe of my grandmother's this time and just changed around a few ingredients.  I topped it off with a cream cheese icing and sprinkles!

Just had to share the awesome candle holder I found! These cupcakes were for my sister's birthday!

something borrowed...that I painted blue

Problem: Not enough storage and file space in our office

Solution:  A filing cabinet that needed a new home

here's what I started with... a lovely brown cabinet

After a spray of Krylon white primer...

I then added Krylon gloss spray paint in blue ocean breeze...

Pretty lovely right?  We now have plenty of room for files and I found a perfect spot for my favorite lamp!

something old...something new....

Our bed didn't have a headboard and after about 6 months it was time to figure something out.  I found an OLD headboard...at a yard sale actually and wasn't too happy with its first impression.  However, I tried to look past its current state and imagine its NEW potential!  It took several coats of paint and a little experimenting, but the final piece looked pretty fantastic!

before

after a few coats of primer

After with black paint

I seem to have underestimated the slick surface...

My final product!   With a second coat of flat black paint.  I painted a piece of plywood a lemongrass color and we nailed it right on the the back of the original headboard!

final installation

little cards...

My students really enjoyed this project last semester and some of them were just so great that  I had to share!  An artist trading card is a miniature work of art 2 1/2" x 3 1/2", about the size of a baseball card.  It actually developed out of the mail art movement and the cards are produced in many different media.  They are rarely sold and are actually meant to be traded among artists.  My students kinda laughed when I told them we were going to make "trading cards", but they really got into it and kept wanting to make more!  We hung them up on the board in the classroom and every class had so much fun looking at all of them!

art may be unexpected...

I was surprised by this sweet sculpture when hiking a trail in north Georgia a few weeks ago.  Either everyone contributed by making their own little zen stack contribution as they passed or someone stayed for quite a while to create this.  Mysterious as it is, it makes me happy!

you can't judge a book by it's color.

I have been seeing so many pictures online and in magazines lately with color coded bookshelves!

Its madness! But oh so lovely madness. This might seem crazy to some people but I couldn't resist giving my bookshelf the makeover.  Its a weird feeling..everything feels organized but yet so not.  Not sure how long it will stick, but for now, I'm enjoying.

here's what I started with...

my end result

creme brulee adventure

So I decided to give creme brulee a try the other day upon a request... I had never made it before, but it was pretty delicious! I'm posting the recipe if you want to give it a try!


p.s. I did the speed version...not cooling it as long in between steps, but it still seemed to produce the same result!


6 egg yolks
6 tablespoons white sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla 
2 1/2 cups heavy cream
2 tablespoons brown sugar


1.  Pre-heat oven 300'
2. beat eggs, sugar,vanilla in mixing bowl until thick and creamy
3. pour cream into saucepan, stir over low heat, until almost boiling, remove from heat, stir into egg mixture, beat until combined
4. pour mixture into top of a double boiler. stir over simmering water about 3 min(it will thicken)
5. bake 30 min.remove.cool to room temperature then refrigerate 1 hr or overnight.
6. preheat oven to broil
7.combine remaining 2 tbs of white sugar and brown sugar. sift evenly over custard. Place under broil until sugar melts.  seriously watch...it will burn quickly!

please seat yourself...

in a new chair!  We only had 2 of our beloved ikea chairs at our dinner table and dinner guests were needing to BYOC! So in an effort to fix the problem we found a 4 chair yard sale find and cleaned them right up!  They aren't quite as sleek as our other 2 chairs but inexpensive and I think the mix of chairs works well- much more exciting than having them all the same.

For the clean-up I just used white primer and applied 2 coats to the chairs all over.  Then found some khaki cushions that gave the chairs some extra comfort!

BEFORE

AFTER

snow day

or i guess I should say snow week... either way I decided to record the view!

home sweet home...

 

cioccolato focaccia

Here's the latest cupcake experiment!  I made them for my brother's birthday and they turned out delicious!  It was a bit of a process determining how to fill the cake with filling and disguise it.  I ended up just cutting small sections from the center of each cupcake, filling the holes with cream and then replacing the tops!

This cupcake was chocolate cake, with a cream filling, chocolate ganache and piped buttercream for the icing!