Rearranging Furniture

I haven't talked about this much on the blog, but I have a serious problem - well maybe not a problem exactly (although to Dave it is), more like an obsession...I love love love to rearrange furniture. Seriously, I love it and do it all the time. It is not uncommon for me to get up super early in the morning and decide everything needs to be moved - one time Dave came stumbling out of bed to everything pushed into the middle of the room and said "just tell me where I'm supposed to drink my coffee?" haha. I don't have any good tips or tricks necessarily - there are times where I measure and cut out little squares of paper (to scale) representing all of our furniture and play with it on grid paper (those are the days I'm saving my back from experimenting and only want to move it once) or there are times like today that I just keep moving things around (including the giant area rug) until I settle on something I like. I spent all morning coming up with different ways to put everything; I'd think it looked good then Sarge and I would sit on the couch for a sec and realize I didn't like it, and then move it again. Same thing with all the little decorative stuff - after getting the furniture in place I started in shuffling things around. I have a room in the basement that has standing shelves filled with extra stuff - baskets, doodads, candles, etc. So when I'm rearranging and looking for something different I go "shopping" in my own house and bring things out from the basement storage area. I try not to buy new things very often, just rotate thru what I already have.

Sarge was happy to discover 2 "lost" balls under the couch!

Today I shoved things off the main rug and gave everything a good sweeping, unplugged cords and took all the stuff off the tables - it's fun to start totally fresh once in a while. Dave was sitting just outside of where I was rearranging and after I asked a couple questions about what he thought, he got up and said he was leaving cuz I was going to drive him crazy. That's one way to get him out of my hair!

One thing I do that helps a lot (oh, maybe I forgot to mention that I do this totally by myself - I don't get a whole lot of grief about changing things anymore but I have to do it on my own. So the rule is if I can figure out how to move it myself then it can and will be moved) is to put those slider things under the legs of whatever I'm moving, it helps a lot. Just be careful that they aren't scratching the floor when sliding pieces around - sometimes I put a towel under the legs to help prevent that. Candy just gave me the idea to leave some sliders under the washer and dryer so you can easily move them out to clean behind - that's a great idea and I'm a little disappointed I didn't think of that myself!

Anyway - just hoping to inspire you to look at your rooms and maybe change them around and freshen things up! It's fun! Really! Maybe don't ask Dave though...;)

Brownie, Oreo, and Reese's Ice Cream Cake

I asked Brooke if she wanted me to make or buy her a dessert for her birthday dinner last night (that's usually my assignment - yay!), she texted back "MAKE". I replied "did you just yell that at me?" and she said "no, I screamed it at you"! Ok then, I guess I'm making it hahaha. I laughed. Her request? Ice cream cake, any flavor as long as it has peanut butter please.

First I baked the brownie crust (using 1/2 of a boxed mix) in the bottom of a 8.5" springform pan, then put the other layers on top. Note * I will do this differently next time and bake the brownie in a different 8.5" pan, then put it in the springform pan that has been sprayed with non-stick cooking spray and lined with plastic wrap...the brownie baked in the bottom made the cake SO hard to get out this way! The pan really needs to be sprayed and lined before assembling the cake. Fair warning people. Other than that this is a super easy dessert to make - really you just wing it, whatever flavors you like and use your imagination for toppings and candy.

first layer of fudge, cookies and
peanut butter cups

For this one I put on a layer of chocolate ice cream (let it stand on the counter for a few minutes to soften up, then mix it well so it's smooth but not melted), put in the freezer until it's hardened up. Warm a jar of hot fudge until it's spreadable and put a layer of that on top of the ice cream followed by chopped up oreo cookies and chopped mini reese's peanut butter cups. Freeze again. Then add a layer of peanut butter ice cream (I just put vanilla ice cream in a bowl and using my electric mixer beat in a big spoonful of peanut butter - voila, peanut butter ice cream), freeze. To finish I spread a thin layer of cool whip on top, drizzled with additional warmed hot fudge (I put it in a ziplock baggie and cut off the tip to control the drizzling), topped with more chopped oreos and reese's. Freeze until ready to serve.

finished peanut butter cake

Now here's a funny thing - since not everyone at the party could eat peanut butter (Dave), I thought I'd be nice and make a second ice cream cake using the other half of the brownie mix, topped with chocolate ice cream, hot fudge and chopped oreos, topped with banana split ice cream, finished with cool whip and chocolate drizzle. Everyone except my sister ate the banana split one! Even Brooke - after she specifically asked for peanut butter. Good grief. I left both of the cakes with my sister, hopefully someone helps her eat the peanut butter one - there was a ton left!

banana split cake

top of banana split cake before the
drizzle froze to the aluminum
foil I wrapped the cake in, and then
 pulled off when unwrapping. ugh.
note to self - wrap these in plastic!

Japanese Steakhouse Carrot-Ginger Salad Dressing

comparing 3 different recipes. 

Our family has a tradition to make birthday dinner your "favorite things" - and it means just that, the birthday person gets to pick whatever they want...and it doesn't have to go together. I will say that in years past we've had meals that consisted of KFC, crab rangoons, pizza, no vegetables, and lots of chips - now everyone is fairly good about coming up with somewhat of a balanced meal. Except there's Brooke, who just turned 13, and has picked out some things that really don't go together! So we are having beef stroganoff with make-your-own-sushi, crabby mushrooms and buffalo dip, Japanese salad and cheez-its....sounds good, right? Ha, yuck. Anyway...My sister is making or getting most of the meal, but I thought it'd be fun to try to make the traditional orange salad dressing we get when we go to a Japanese Hibachi/steakhouse for the salad - I think it's Carrot-Ginger so googled a bunch of recipes and experimented with 3 different ones  (I went and picked up a small thing of restaurant dressing so I have something to compare it to) and I think I got pretty close - here's the winning recipe:

1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup rice vinegar
2 Tablespoons soy sauce
1 Tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon grated ginger
1 medium carrot peeled and roughly chopped (I used baby carrots, about 4 ounces)
1/2 medium onion, roughly chopped
salt and pepper to taste

Put all the ingredients in a food processor, process until smooth. Chill until ready to use. Makes about 2 cups.

Note: this has a little texture to it, tiny little specks of ginger and carrot - you won't get it totally smooth and that's what you want. Serve over iceberg salad with shredded carrots and cherry tomatoes.

to use fresh ginger - buy the size you want (it's ok to break off a piece at the supermarket, you don't have to buy the whole thing...kinda like bananas). then remove the brown part with a vegie peeler and discard.

 different stages of the ginger - remove and discard the peel (on the right) and then grate it (on the left)

PS: there are a bunch of recipes out there that call for ketchup, celery, lemon juice...it doesn't taste like the one we are used to and isn't my favorite for sure - it just tastes like ketchup!

Happy Labor Day!

I couldn't find many cute Labor Day sayings, quotes or pictures - so I'm leaving you with this cute pic of Sarge...wishing you a day filled with friends, family, and a nice long nap!

Oh, and I'm totally wearing my white jeans after today - who's with me?

White Beans in Marinara Sauce and Arugula Salad with Fresh Mushrooms

I got the idea for this dish when we went to Greece a couple years ago and had giant beans in a tomato sauce, and loved loved loved them. I found a couple recipes in cookbooks but then just sort of made this version up and it's stuck - I make them all the time.

sometimes I add a handful of halved cherry tomatoes 

 I don't know where to get giant beans here - for real, there are huge giant white beans out there! Get them if you find them - so I use canned white beans, usually Great Northern or White Cannelini and sometimes a mixture of both. Rinse them really well, put into a small roasting dish, and mix in some jarred marinara sauce (or any spaghetti sauce would be fine I think) - bake at 350 for anywhere between 30 - 45 minutes (you can't really overbake, they just cook down more the longer you bake them. If they seem dry I add a little hot water or olive oil to loosen them up a bit). Season with salt and pepper, and crumble feta cheese over the top for the last few minutes in the oven.

They are good by themselves, or as a side dish to grilled or roasted meat and chicken. I occasionally add halved cherry tomatoes and/or additional italian seasoning - it's a very adaptable dish. But white beans, marinara, and feta alone is just delish...I hope you'll try them!

This time we had them with grilled marinated pork tenderloin and a super easy salad of arugula and fresh mushrooms tossed with a little olive oil, lemon juice, coarse salt, and parmesan.

salad ingredients

Barbie Soap

Yesterday I posted cutie Brooke making cutie soaps that are all pretty and smell good...so today I'm posting how Aunt Jill prefers to make soap - not pretty (although it does smell good). I don't know why I started doing this, did I see this somewhere? I'm thinking not, cuz why would anyone do this? HA. Wherever it came from, I had the idea to cut up barbie dolls and float the pieces in soap - yep, it's just what it sounds like, random doll parts sticking out of soap. Kinda creepy, kinda funny - the only bar I have left is one with a barbie face floating in it, I keep it in the guest room as a "surprise" for unsuspecting visitors. LOL!!! Brooke told me a couple years ago that we could no longer make these, it's just wrong - so now we just make pretty "normal" regular soap :) Whatever.

Brooke makes soap

First of all, today is Brooke's birthday so "HAPPY BIRTHDAY B!!" Let's see if she checks the blog today LOL!


She loves to make soap - this is the first time she has done it though with no help from me and I cannot tell you how happy this makes me. Yes I also love to make soap, but within reason...this kid will make soap for hours and hours like the energizer bunny - there's no end to the soap making! But now that she can handle the hot liquid soap and pouring it into the molds by herself then hey, Aunt Jill is totally fine with her making it all day if she wants (or until the supplies run out hahah!).

Watch this video to see her teach how she does it...such a funny girl, love her :)



This is not hard to do, it just requires adult supervision since you melt the soap in the microwave and then need a steady hand to pour it into the molds. I cover the surface she's working at but really it's just soap and clean up is pretty easy.

I chunk up a big brick of soap I get at the craft store, it comes in white opaque and clear. Put some in a big glass measuring bowl and micro until it's melted. Then add color and scents (a little goes a long way). They have lots of different dyes you can color it with and scents, and of course lots of choices for molds. You need to work quickly as the soap starts to set up right away, get it into the molds and then pop them in the freezer until it hardens up, then release them from the molds. Easy.

Usually I spray the molds with non-stick cooking spray but not always - some molds are harder than others but it'll come out with a little patience. We like to layer the colors by pouring some soap into the mold and letting it get hard, then add more melted soap in a different color on top of the first. Just experiment to see what you can come up with - if it doesn't work then just re-melt it and try something else.

Good, clean fun!

Mini Succulent Shadow Box

I love how this little shadow box turned out and it was another simple, quick, fun project - my favorite kind!

Supplies:

• small paper maché rectangle box 2" x 3.25", without the lid
• small matted frame 3.5"x 4.5"overall with 2"x 3" opening, remove the glass and back
• small artificial succulent
• craft paint and brush
• hot glue, clear craft glue

Paint the inside of the paper maché box, I did 2 coats, let dry. Hot glue the small succulent to a bottom corner of the box. Using clear craft glue, attach the mat to the front edges of the box creating the shadowbox effect, then glue the mat to the frame. Easy!

I just squeezed some paint into the box
and brushed it around using a small foam
paintbrush - a little lazy, yes :)

Got the idea for this project here

Coconut Cream Filled Cupcakes

We had a joint birthday dinner for Dave and Ray and they both like different kinds of cake - so I had the thought to split one batch of cupcakes in half and do something different for each guy. I used a boxed white cake mix but replaced the water and oil with milk and melted butter, and added an additional egg - then I filled 12 lined cupcake tins with the batter for Ray's half and baked as directed. To the remaining batter I added a big handful of shredded coconut and a 1/2 teaspoon of coconut extract (I would have used more but that's all that was left in the bottle! After they baked I ran to the store for more so I could add to the frosting) then filled 12 lined cupcake tins and baked those as directed. Note: I usually bake them for less time than the box suggests, I pulled these out at 15 minutes and they were perfect.

After they cooled I frosted Ray's with fluffy chocolate buttercream frosting and sprinkles. Dave's were a little more complicated but not difficult. I removed a little cake from the cupcakes creating a hole, then squeezed in the filling (see below). Smooth the tops, spread with frosting, then pat coconut all over the tops covering completely. I actually got a "best ever" thumbs up from Dave and everyone else at the table (except the ones that don't like coconut, they don't count haha).

The waitress looked at both containers of cupcakes and asked where I bought them - awwwww, that was nice - I was holding the chocolate ones and asked if she'd like one, she said "are the other ones coconut? Because coconut is my favorite" hahaha, so we gave her one of each :). Cute.

Coconut Cream Filled Cupcakes Directions:

-Add shredded coconut and extract to the batter before baking.
-Make filling: mix together 1 box of coconut cream pudding and 3/4 cup whole milk, whisk for a couple minutes and refrigerate until set.
-Whip a small container of whipping cream until stiff peaks form. Add half to the pudding.
-Put the filling in a quart sized baggie and snip one corner.
-Remove some cake from the top of each cupcake, squeeze filling into each hole. Smooth the top.
-Frost with buttercream frosting and then cover the tops with shredded coconut. Refrigerate.

Coconut Buttercream Frosting:
-1 stick soft unsalted butter
-4 cups confectioners sugar
-1 teaspoon coconut extract
-pinch of coarse salt
-milk (a couple tablespoons, add a little at
a time until you get the right consistency)

cream the butter until smooth, add the
remaining ingredients and beat until smooth
and fluffy. For this cake I added a big scoop
of cool whip, gently folding to combine
with the frosting. 

note: to make chocolate buttercream frosting replace the coconut extract with vanilla and add 2/3 cup cocoa powder

A Tip For Repotting Plants

I have a gerbera daisy that a friend gave me a couple years ago, and it's still been in it's little 4 inch pot this whole time - how sad and it really wants to live so I finally got around to repotting it! Poor thing. Watch it'll now die cuz I messed with it haha...

When repotting plants because they need more space, don't use a much bigger pot. I can't remember why but you are "supposed" to just go up a little bit in size, and as they grow out of that one then go up another size. It's better for them and besides, if you put a little plant in a giant pot the proportions will be wrong and it'll look stupid.

A little tip for repotting plants - I put a coffee filter in the bottom of the pot (if it has a hole in the bottom) before adding soil, it keeps the dirt from running out when you water it. You can put a stone or pebble over the opening instead, that works pretty good too but I'm too lazy to go hunt for a stone when I have a stack of filters in the garage for this very reason!

if the plants roots are all bound together like this one,
gently separate if you can so the roots will
now be able to grow down into the fresh soil.