Pinspiration

I'm sure I'm not alone when I say that I'm a pin whore. Yes, I said it. The first step is admitting, right? I've been sick the last few days so I've been stuck at home busying myself with projects. Even with the cold from hell I try to be productive! Here are some ideas I've been working on that I never would've thought of without the help of Pinterest.

I fell in love with this DIY cake stand and knew I had to make one.

Fortunately we had some logs handy. I have some customers that are

going to be very happy about this!

My first mod podge experience. Put the lace on any ol' container then

spray paint with desired color. I'm hoping mine will turn out this good!

Apparently stores in my area don't sell ruffled lamp shades and I really

want one so I'm just making it :)

All the shoes I was about ready to throw out and now there's a simple solution!

The results look great...I'm hoping the glitter stays put.

One of my husband's friends works at a cider mill so I was able to get

the hook-up on some crates. We had a corner in our dining room that

needed jazzing up and I'm so happy with how this turned out.

I actually didn't work on this because that would've involved me going

outside in the cold, but we do have lattice leftover from another project and I'm

going to fill the hubby in on my plans to cover up our ugly AC unit asap!

I've got lots more stuff pinned that I will eventually get to, so if anyone wants to steal some ideas feel free to stalk me at Pinterest.com/cortneyloo

Tasty Tuesday- Cinnamon French Toast Bake

Umm...the picture speaks for itself, right?

You'll need:

1/4 cup melted butter

2 12.4 oz. cans Pillsbury refrigerated cinnamon rolls with icing

5 eggs

1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

2 teaspoons vanilla

3/4 cup maple syrup

Melt butter and pour on ungreased 9x13 inch glass dish. Separate cinnamon roll dough into 16 rolls saving the icing for later use. Cut each individual roll into 8 pieces and add to baking dish. Beat eggs in medium bowl. Add cinnamon, vanilla, and cream and beat until well blended. Pour over cut pieces of cinnamon rolls. Drizzle maple syrup over the top and bake at 375 degrees for approximately 22 minutes or until golden brown. Allow to cool slightly while heating icing in microwave for 15 seconds. Drizzle icing over the top and serve!

52 Week Organization Challenge

One of my New Year's resolutions is to get my house completely organized once and for all. My husband and I have relocated a total of five times in the past six years, and that has made it near impossible to come up with a good system since as soon as I find a spot for everything we're packing things up again! Now that we have a house and we're set to be here indefinitely I am eager to eliminate all chaos and clutter. I've signed up for weekly organization challenges from www.home-storage-solutions-101.com and although it might sound weird, I find myself looking forward to that Monday email! The challenge is meant to be a 52-week process but some of the chores on the list are so small that I'm going to be completing multiple tasks within a week to get a tidy home sooner. I thought I'd share the link here in case anyone else wants to join in, too! It's not too late to get started if you had the same goal in mind :)

Tasty Tuesday-Parmesan Honey Pork Roast

It's that time again! Time for a delicious new recipe that is both quick and easy to make. I actually prefer when my food cooks itself, so how's about a slow cooker dish today? This is another great find courtesy of Pinterest. That site has been great for my taste buds, not so much for my waist line :) I cooked this for the hubby a few nights ago and it was ah-maz-ing. Even the gravy pretty much makes itself.

You'll need:

1 2-3lb. boneless pork roast

2/3 cup grated parmesan cheese

1/2 cup of honey

3 tablespoons of soy sauce

2 tablespoons dried basil

2 tablespoons of olive oil

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons minced garlic

2 tablespoons cornstarch

1/4 cup cold water

Spray slow cooker with non-stick spray. Place roast in slow cooker. In a small bowl combine the cheese, honey, basil, garlic, soy sauce, oil and salt, then pour over pork. Cover and cook on low 6-7 hours until meat thermometer reads 160 degrees. Remove meat to a serving platter. Skim fat from cooking juices and transfer to a saucepan. Bring liquid to a boil, then combine cornstarch and water until smooth in a separate bowl. Stir into pan, bring to a boil, then stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Slice roast and serve with gravy.

Tasty Tuesday-Pecan Chicken

This dish requires only three ingredients so it's super easy and quick to make. You would never guess it's so simple though once you've tasted it! The pecans add a very nice flavor and the smell in your kitchen will be wonderful!

You'll need:

4 skinned and boned chicken breast halves

2 tablespoons honey

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

2 tablespoons finely chopped pecans

Place chicken between 2 sheets of heavy-duty plastic wrap and flatten to 1/4-inch thickness using a meat mallet or rolling pin. Stir together honey and mustard, spread on both sides of chicken, then sprinkle on pecans. Arrange in a lightly greased 8-inch square baking dish and bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes until done.

A very tacky Christmas

I have wanted to attend an ugly Christmas sweater party for the past few years. It's a perfect excuse to dress ridiculous and have a good laugh with friends! But for some reason or another, every year I find myself missing out. Last year I was sick, the year before we were out of town, and the year before that I had to work when our friends hosted a party. Well this year I finally got to go to an ugly Christmas sweater party, and the hubby and I went all out to make up for previous years. The picture below is what felt, garland, a feather boa, battery-operated mini lights, pipe cleaners, jingle bells and hot glue will get ya!

For all of our creative efforts, we were awarded with a gift card prize for tackiest sweaters. Yay!
I'm going to have to get started thinking about ideas for next year's sweater early. It's gonna get serious if we're going to be repeat winners ;)

Cheesecake Brownie Recipe

Who doesn't love Great American Cookie Company? I find it hard to pass by there without wanting to inhale half the stuff on those trays! My favorite treat by far, though, has to be their cheesecake brownies. After much experimenting with recipes I found online I've found the one that tastes the most similar, so I'm going to share it with you.

You'll need:

Brownie layer:
1 regular box of fudge brownie mix of your choice
All ingredients called for on the back of the box

Cheesecake layer:
16 oz. cream cheese-softened
24 oz. powdered sugar
4 eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup semisweet chocolate mini morsels
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9x13" pan with aluminum foil and lightly spray with cooking spray. Mix all of the brownie ingredients together and pour into the bottom of the pan. Separately mix all of the cheesecake ingredients until cream cheese is no longer lumpy. Pour it on top of the brownie layer. Bake for 40-45 minutes until golden brown.

Business is picking up!

I'm so pleased with the amount of cake and cupcake orders I have had lately. I've been trying to get my name out there and build my business and it looks like it's starting to pay off! Business has actually picked up enough that I've dropped down to part time hours at my day job to accomodate all the baking. I feel incredibly blessed that I'm having the opportunity to profit off of something I enjoy doing and it feels good to be able to have a creative outlet too! Today I thought I'd share a couple pictures of some of the projects that have kept me from coming around to blog as often :) I'm going to start getting better about posting pictures of my baked goods on my Facebook page (facebook.com/forgoodnesscakesbakery) as I'm getting in the rhythm of managing all the things I have going on in my life at the moment! Until then, here's a little peek of what I've had going on.

Turkey cupcakes made for an elementary school function

Zebra smash cake for an adorable little girl's 1st birthday party

Christmas sweater cake made for a tacky Christmas sweater party

Tasty Tuesday-S'mores Crunch Mix

I love s'mores. I don't even care in what form. I love s'mores cappuccino, s'mores cookies, s'mores cupcakes, s'mores pie...I think you get the point. So imagine my excitement when I stumbled upon this little recipe. It's super easy to make and convenient to snack on when you're on the go. Brace yourself, because today I'm teaching you how to make s'mores crunch mix!

You'll need:

1/4 cup butter

1 10oz. bag regular marshmallows

1-2 cups of chocolate chips

1 box of Golden Graham cereal

1 container of Magic Shell ice cream topping

In a large saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Add marshmallows and keep stirring until the marshmallows completely melt and you have a sauce-like consistency. Remove from heat. Add Golden Grahams and stir until they are all well coated. Stir in chocolate chips. Grease a 9x13 pan and press s'mores down. Once they are all pressed down and slightly cooled, drizzle evenly with Magic Shell.

Note-you will not need all of the Magic Shell! It should be a light drizzle and not a full coating of chocolate on these treats.

My latest obsession:Drum shades

We'll soon be replacing the light fixture in our bedroom as the $4 builder grade light has worn out its welcome. Actually it wasn't ever really welcome. It's only been allowed to stay here for the eight months we've been in our home because we started our remodeling downstairs and are just now working our way up. I've been heavily pondering what type of light to put in its place and I think I've decided on a drum pendant. Here are some of the ones I've come across while searching that I'm drooling over!The shapes on this one are neat. Not sure if it would work in my space, but I really like it!

I love how the branches on this one are inside the shade. I bet it's beautiful when the light is turned on!

Love this. Wow is all I have to say!

Here's a fancy pants version. It's probably a little much, but I'm a sucker for crystals.

Our bedside table lamps actually have this same exact design with the clear balls and linen color shade. We might have a winner!

I love the texture and simplicity of this drum shade. It's so pretty!

This design is gorgeous. Love love love!

So what do you think of drum shade pendants? Love 'em? Hate 'em? I want to hear your thoughts!

Tasty Tuesday-No bake energy bites

Today's recipe is another tasty concoction brought to you by Pinterest. As an added bonus it's actually pretty healthy too! I've been taking these bite-sized goodies to work and now have my co-workers hooked on them as well :)

You'll need:

1 cup of oatmeal

1/3 cup honey

1/2 cup peanut butter

1 cup coconut flakes

1/2 cup mini chocolate chips

1/2 cup ground flaxseed

1 tsp vanilla

Thoroughly mix all ingredients in a medium sized bowl. Let chill in the fridge for half an hour. Once chilled, roll into bite-sized balls and enjoy! Easy, huh?

Fall Decor

I thought before I went packing things away I should probably share a few pics of our fall decorations with you all! Better late than never, right? If you look at the walls closely you can also see our new paint color. It's Valspar's Churchhill Hotel Ecru. It's a very subtle tan with gray undertones and it's amazing the warmth it adds to our living room. I'm very pleased!

Here's our tablescape before we added placemats. I really wanted a pretty orange tablecloth but of all the stores we looked at not a single place had square ones. Go figure! Although it sounds odd, I used chickpeas to fill the votives and I love how they turned out. They are surprisingly autumn-looking beans!
I picked up these metal pumpkins at Michael's. The basket was a Goodwill find ($1!) and the filler items were also from Michael's.
I liked the chickpeas so much that I used them in tall vases to fill the awkward space above our coat closet too. I used raffia to tie ribbons around the vases and then scattered some glittery baby pumpkins up there as well. I sorta love glitter :)

My favorite decorated spot was our mantel, mostly because I'm in love with the old window I found while browsing a local antique store. My darling husband actually did most of the decorating here! He was very proud of his contribution of scattering leaves and placing the little artifacts up there...he's adorable ;) I got the set of 3 metal haystacks from Cracker Barrel, the Autumn leaf sign from Ross, the candle holders from Dollar Tree, and the owl oil burner from Bath & Body Works. I've decided I love the owl, so I think he's going to stick around and find a home in another area of the house.

I can't wait to share my Christmas decor with you next and see all the beautiful things going up in your house!

Tasty Tuesday-Sweet Holiday Ham

This Thanksgiving we had the pleasure of hosting dinner at our new house. It was such a great feeling to be able to have loved ones over to see our place and prepare a meal all by ourselves :) The hubs and I have three separate Thanksgiving dinners and let me tell ya...turkey gets old. So for our dinner I resorted to my tried and true holiday ham recipe. We hardly ever have leftovers if that tells you how delicious this thing is! I thought I'd share the recipe in case any of you would be interested in a great way to cook your Christmas ham.

You'll need:

1 12 pound fully cooked bone-in ham

1 cup maple syrup

1 cup orange juice

1 cup ginger ale

1 cup pineapple juice

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup honey

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl, mix together maple syrup, orange juice, ginger ale, pineapple juice, honey, and brown sugar. Score outer edge of ham with a sharp knife in a diamond pattern. Cuts should be about 1/4 inch deep allowing ham to soak up juice. Place ham in an oven bag and pour juice mixture over it. Tie the end of the bag closed with ties provided, place in a roasting pan, and cut a few slits in the top of the bag. Bake the ham for two hours, then remove and place on a serving plate waiting ten minutes before carving.

Tasty Tuesday-Tortellini Carbonara

It's been awhile since I posted a pasta recipe on here, so how about a delicious and cheesy choice for today's Tasty Tuesday? This is the type of recipe that will be ready and on the table in less than 20 minutes, and those are my favorite kinds of recipes!

You'll need:

1 9 oz. package refrigerated cheese-filled tortellini

4 bacon slices

1 garlic clove

1/3 cup shredded parmesan cheese

1/4 cup whipping cream

1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

Cook tortellini in a pot with lid according to package directions. Drain tortellini then set aside. Cook bacon until crisp, then remove and lay on paper towels, reserving 1 1/2 tablespoons drippings in pan. Crumble the bacon. Cook garlic in reserved bacon drippings for half a minute. Mix with tortellini, add crumbled bacon, parmesan cheese, whipping cream, pepper, and fresh parsley. Toss gently then serve immediately.

Cappuccino Cake...in a crock pot!

Tasty Tuesday didn't pan out this week, so here's a little recipe just in time for the weekend that's pretty much effortless. It's cake made in a slow cooker! Bet you never thought of that, huh?

You'll need:

1 box of devil's food super moist cake mix

1 1/3 cup water

1 tablespoon instant coffee

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

4 egg whites

1/2 cup applesauce

Preheat slow cooker for 10 minutes on high. Spray the inside with cooking spray. In a medium bowl beat all ingredients on low speed for 1 minute, scraping bowl constantly. Pour the mixture into the slow cooker, putting a paper towel over the top then covering with the lid. Cook for 2 hours on high or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Let the cake cool for 10 minutes then turn the slow cooker upside down to remove the cake. Ice with desired frosting and enjoy!

Rustoleum Cabinet Transformations review

By now I think everyone has heard of this product. It's advertised as an easy way refinish cabinets and it's honey oak's worst nightmare. Everything you need to successfully paint your cabinets is included in a kit that you can purchase at any home improvement store. I used this product recently to update the cabinets in my laundry room and thought I'd share my experience here. The picture below is what my cabinets looked like before.

I taped the edges of the cabinets so I wouldn't get white paint all over my newly painted yellow walls, then I taped off the corners of the shelving since I wouldn't be painting those (the kit doesn't include enough paint to cover the interior of the cabinet so that also explains why I didn't bother taking stuff out of my cabinets).

I didn't take a picture of the first step in the process which was deglossing (oops!). The deglosser worked great though. It took off all the sheen to prep the surface without requiring any sanding. I love that. The pamphlet calls the next step the "bond coat" which would make it sound like it's primer, but it's really just your first coat of color. I chose Pure White for our color. This is what the cabinets looked like after one coat: Pretty streaky, so I did another coat as instructed. This is the most time consuming part. You have to paint the cabinet frame and the back of the cabinet door, then wait 3 hours, then paint the front of the cabinet door, wait 3 hours, then repeat the process for the second coat. Only a second coat didn't work for me. As you can see it was still streaky.
I was aware that some wood grain was supposed to show through when I bought this product, but the original wood color was also still showing through as well, so I went back for round three. The picture below is the result of three coats. Definitely better than two, but still not the coverage I wanted. I think I decided halfway through this project that in this particular room I just wanted cabinets that had that factory-finished white look since our beadboard was that way.

So I broke down and used regular ol' white paint. I didn't plan on using the optional glaze anyway so I figured it wouldn't hurt anything. This got me the look I wanted and I was still able to use the clear top coat from the Rustoleum kit. The clearcoat is a necessity as it helps protect the cabinet from dings and anything else that would ruin the finish, but it can also be a pain in the butt. The best advice I can give for this step is get less clearcoat on your brush than you think you need. It can be hard to smooth it around the cabinet edges without it glopping up. Here is the end result after all my hours of hard work:I love how it turned out even though I had to invest in some regular paint and stray from the instructions a little to achieve the results I got. I don't want this to discourage anyone from trying Cabinet Transformations though. It's a great all-in-one kit, and I think when I do my kitchen cabinets and actually want more wood look showing through it will work just fine without needing any outside paint formula. To prove my point check out the picture below. A friend of mine also used Pure White but with the glaze on top, and her cabinets turned out beautiful! It created a nice, natural, textured look which is exactly what I want when we renovate our kitchen. I plan on refinishing all the cabinets in our house including in our upstairs bathrooms and they'll all be different colors, so I'll be showing off all the before and afters here for your educational benefit :)

We're cheating

When it comes to decorating and renovating my hubby and I are usually all about doing things ourselves. This is because A) We consider ourselves perfectly capable of tackling most projects and take pride in finishing a job on our own, and B) because we're notoriously frugal. That's why it's hard for me to believe that we've hired contractors for our next big project. But because that project is painting our entire downstairs, here we are about to pay a crew of three professionals to come in to do work that I wish we could be doing ourselves. It's not that we couldn't paint it ourselves (after all we have done the entire upstairs including removing all the wallpaper), it's just that we want it done before the holidays and lately it's been hard to find time for even the littlest tasks much less a huge project like this. I'm still bummed that I'm going against my typical DIY mindset, but I'm sure once it's all done I'll be thankful that in two days the pros will have finished something that would've taken me and my husband weeks to do with our lack of free time! As for the process of getting this accomplished, the picture below is the current state of my living room.

Nice, huh? It looks like an abandoned house except for the leftover Halloween candy on the table. The kitchen is worse. It's in complete disarray and for the most part unusable at the moment. My oven is in my dining room.

It's gotta get worse before it can get better, right? Right? Just answer yes so I can have hope that some order will be restored to my home soon, k? At least the fugly wallpaper in the kitchen is gone, and I look forward to when the sterile white is gone for good too. I'll post pics after the drop cloths have been taken away and all our furniture is moved back to the usual spots :)

Tasty Tuesday-Sweet Carrot Salad

Is it really Tuesday already? Where the heck did this last week go? I guess I've been busier than I thought! I've been so busy in fact that I've started eating fast food a little too regularly since it seems I'm always on the go. I am not okay with this! I've made a commitment to start pre-packing snacks and lunches that are healthier so that my very full schedule doesn't start affecting my waistline. In honor of that here is a new recipe that I made the other night for lunch. I think you're gonna enjoy it!

You'll need:
1 1/2 cups shredded raw carrots
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 cup almond slivers
Fresh cilantro

Grate carrots into long, even shreds. Measure the mustard and honey into a shallow bowl, then mix in the lemon juice. Sprinkle ginger into the mixture. Stir in the grated carrots until it is evenly coated in dressing. Sprinkle almonds over salad and top with cilantro last.

A belated Tasty Tuesday

I've mentioned before that I'm a horrible blogger, right? Okay, just checking. If it's any consolation I assure you that the recipe I'm about to give you was well worth the wait! I've been on an apple kick lately, so let's stick with that wonderful fruit shall we? Today I'm going to show you how to make apple nachos!!! (Insert excitement here)

You'll need:

4 honey crisp apples (cored and sliced thin)

30 large marshmallows

1/3 cup butter (cubed)

1/3 cup mini chocolate chips

1/3 cup chopped nut topping of your choice

1/4 cup caramel apple dip

Sprite

While you're preparing the drizzle topping, leave the apple slices soaking in Sprite to prevent browning. In a large saucepan melt butter and marshmallows. Arrange apple slices on a large platter. Pour caramel into a ziploc bag, then snip off one corner with scissors to allow caramel to drizzle over apples. Drizzle marshmallow mixture over apples, then sprinkle with nuts and chocolate chips. Serve immediately.

Tasty Tuesday-Caramel apple dip

This is another delicious recipe brought to you courtesy of Pinterest. I made this recently for a church gathering and it was a hit! Caramel and apples are always good together, but throw in chocolate and you've got yourself a new go-to dip recipe.

You'll need:

1 16oz. container Marzetti caramel

1/2 cup brown sugar

8 oz. cream cheese (softened)

2 Skor bars broken up into small pieces

Beat cream cheese and brown sugar together until smooth, then slowly fold in caramel. Stir in pieces of candy reserving some for the top as a garnish. After well-mixed sprinkle remaining Skor pieces on top. It's that easy!