Tiramisu Birthday Cake

My coworker/friend's birthday is this Friday and what better way to celebrate (besides her trip to Las Vegas) than by baking a yummy cake? I know she loves Tiramisu, because that is what she always orders from Olive Garden. Tiramisu doesn't really scream birthday cake, though, so I looked for other options with the same taste. Type "Tiramisu cake" into Google and the first link is the recipe I used.

First things first, put on your adorable apron and take silly pictures for your blog. Check. Next, line up all of your ingredients and take more pictures.

Check. (P.S. I put in that backsplash all by myself. Quite proud of it, actually). Once I stopped playing with the camera on my Mac (and subsequently researching online how to flip pictures since Mac likes to give me mirror images), I got down to business. Despite my cake being unwilling to stay in one piece as I flipped it out of the cake pan, I managed to make it look pretty with hand whipped (couldn't find my electric mixer) frosting and chocolate. Chocolate makes everything better. So does duct tape. Kind of wish they made edible duct tape for the purposes of baking. I digress...here is the final product!

Some things to keep in mind:
1. Make sure you have all your ingredients (including tools such as mixers)
2. Don't eat raw cake batter
3. Buy extra provisions for just in case when you mess up


Although I realize this has NOTHING to do with my healthy eating goals this week, I feel it's ok because it's not like I'm going to eat the whole cake myself. Though I probably would if I didn't have to bring it to work today. It looks yummy, right?


One last thing! The recipe called for three egg whites, so I had three egg yolks staring at me from a sad little bowl. So I boiled some pasta, sauteed some onions and garlic and made a pancetta-less carbonara (very loosely using this term). It was delish. Waste not, want not. ;)


What is your favorite kind of cake? 

8 Weeks to a Better Me: Week Three

I can't believe the second week is already over! Ok here are my results:

1. Go running at Memorial Park at least twice this week

I did actually go twice! Should have been more, but it was an emotionally charged week and I just did not have it in me.

 

2. Go to Yoga and challenge myself

Did not get to do this. At all. Very sad, actually. So I will try to do it this week!

 

3. Drink lots and lots of water

I definitely upped my intake of water, but I feel like I still need more. Going to continue this for the upcoming week...

 

So once again, not a completely successful week, and I won't make any more excuses, just need to get my mind around doing this the right way!

 

Week 3: Healthy Eating!

Well this will be a fun week because I enjoy cooking and have been slacking off in the home cooked meals department lately. What a great motivation to get out of my eating out rut and actually understand what I'm putting in my body. I miss the days of having yummy meals cooked by mom (or grandma...aunt...etc.), because it's never quite the same when you try to make it yourself. But it doesn't hurt to try!

1. Try out two new recipes (healthy ones) and make them from scratch
2. Eat one salad per day (go for dinner salads)
3. Add variety by branching out and trying new veggies/fruits (at least 2 new ones)

Those are the goals, let's hope that this week will be a complete success for me! What are your goals? Yay food!

 

How's it Sewing?

Ok, I promise that's the only sewing play on words I'll expose you to. :) Ok maybe just one more...

I broke down and bought my first sewing machine a few weeks ago and it arrived over the weekend. I chose it based on online reviews saying it was great for beginners (read: me). And so far, I must say, it is a dream! This is the model I got: Brother XL2600I Sew Advance Sew Affordable (haha, it was though! I only paid about $75) 25-Stitch Free-Arm Sewing Machine

Excited about sewing

I decided that I wanted to sew a little dress for my coworker who is about to become a mommy. She's having a little girl and I chose a very cute yellow pattern for the dress. After several mishaps (and subsequent fixes), here is the final product!

Close up of the ribbon, which I added because of a mishap, but totally works!

Knots for the straps :)



This is to prove that I actually made it!

 Isn't it just adorable? Makes me almost want to have babies. ALMOST. For now, I'll just make cute things for other people's children. Like these tiny baby bibs for my other coworker who is expecting twins. :)

Terry Cloth backs for easy cleanup

  What did I learn from my first few days of being a sewing machine owner?

1. Look up terminology - there are a lot of words that I had no idea existed and are kind of important when you're trying to follow directions

2. Read instructions, then read them again...and possibly a third time - better to be safe than stare blankly at the beautiful sewing you just completed...on the wrong side of the material

3. It's ok to make mistakes - just figure out a way to work with them or around them

What do you think of my first attempts? Hopefully I can make a dress for myself one day. :)

8 Weeks to a Better Me: Week Two

First things first, let's discuss last week's goals. 

1. Figure out how to make pictures look better on my blog...

I fixed some pictures that were not showing up correctly, and tried to find solutions online for making my pictures look better, but no luck yet...


2. Take better photos, taking care to set up great shots...
I actually haven't had a chance to take any pictures as my camera was left at home. :(


3. Explore new blogs and comment on them (instead of just reading!)...
I did this one! I started following a few new blogs and commented on several as I read them. :)


So last week was not exactly a success, but given the circumstances (friends visiting (yay!) and very little computer time), I'll cut myself some slack. ;)

Time for Week Two: Fitness!


I am very excited about this week because I used to exercise quite a bit, just a year ago. I was training for a triathlon and although it was impossible at first, I quickly developed a habit and it became part of my daily routine. I loved it. Then life happened, I moved to another city, fell down the stairs and severely injured my ankle and things stopped happening. I stopped moving as much.


And you know what, I miss it! So let's do this!

1. Go running at Memorial Park at least twice this week

2. Go to Yoga and challenge myself

3. Drink lots and lots of water

My problem lately has been motivation, so I've looked up a few things to get me going.

This is amazing!

Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going. -Jim Ryan

I once read that even if you really don't want to workout (or do something else), talk yourself into just going for ten minutes and you'll usually find that once you've started, it's easy to keep going.

What motivates you? 

8 Weeks to a Better Me: Week One

I have been feeling a little out of sync lately and I think it has to do with not taking care of myself as I should. This includes taking on too much, eating whatever is fast and unhealthy and not getting in enough exercise. My job has me sitting at a desk, staring at a computer for 8-9 hours on end and I really need to take time either in the morning or evening to counteract all the sedentary action going on.

Thanks to a friend who did the same thing, I will be starting a challenge this week called "8 Weeks to a Better Me." This was actually started by Sometimes Sweet, and I highly recommend that you visit her blog. I don't expect miracles to happen, but I hope it will get me on a better path. The basic premise is to make small goals to work towards every week and challenge yourself to make them happen.



The first week is about blogging.



1. Figure out how to make pictures look better on my blog
2. Take better photos, taking care to set up great shots
3. Explore new blogs and comment on them (instead of just reading!)

I am excited to get started!

I want :

To do this in Hamburg, Germany:

To make homemade Nutella:

This for my bike:

This adorable purse:

This beautiful dress:

To attempt this manicure:

What do you want?

Jewelry Tree

Back in May, I mentioned that I wanted to create a jewelry tree like the one from this awesome blogger. Here is what her finished product looked like:

It's gorgeous, right? Well, I actually completed this project back in June, but forgot to blog about it. Since then, I have managed to lose all the "in progress" pictures and all I have to show you are the pictures of the final product. Sorry!

How to make a jewelry tree in three easy steps:

1. Find a branch with plenty of character

2. Spray paint said branch any color you like

3. Attach nicely painted branch to some device that will hold it upright

I found a branch in the front yard and spray painted it silver. I had an old red flower pot that I painted black and filled with plaster of paris to hold the branch. That's how easy it was and you could do this in as little as an hour. Here is my jewelry tree:

Just after I finished it

Close up of the branches

Close up of the plaster of paris - I use the base to hold miscellaneous items of jewelry

I used a different technique, but I think it turned out really nicely. It also gives me more reason to go out and buy more (yay!) jewelry. Like I really need a reason. What do you think of my version of the jewelry tree?

New Lamp Shade!

A few weeks ago, I took the lamp shade from my lamp to make a new light fixture. Since then, my poor lamp has been sitting in the corner waiting for a new shade to complete its lonely existence. Feeling bad for the poor thing, I ventured out to find a new lamp shade and stumbled upon this lovely creation:

Isn't it gorgeous? Of course, I did not want the actual lamp and I couldn't buy the shade without the lamp, so I took pictures and decided to make my own beautiful lamp shade! P.S. The lamp was $50. HA! There was no way I could justify that purchase. 


If I were a more patient person, I would have scoured every thrift store in the vicinity for a lamp shade to use for this project and waited until I found one. Since I am pretty much the opposite of patient, I just picked up a shade from the local Wally World for $15. I probably could have saved $10 if I just waited, but hey, I'll just fore go a couple of lattes at Starbucks this week and call it even. 


Lamp shade, check. Now I needed fabric. I dug through my drawers to find an old sheer white curtain that I knew I had put away safely in case I had a use for it in the future. Boy am I glad I did! Now I had fabric, shade, scissors, needle and thread, glue and that's pretty much all I needed. I put on a random movie so that I wouldn't go crazy having to cut a million circles and began the project. 

I did not care if the circles were perfect, mostly because it was already taking forever to cut them...and did I mention that I'm impatient? I decided to go with four different sized circles for the flowers, the sizes were chosen arbitrarily. You can't really tell from the picture, but there are small dots of sparkliness on the fabric. :)


I am not sure how long it took to cut the circles, but let's just say I watched an entire movie and they still were not done. Apparently I am extremely slow. May I suggest you do not do this project on your microfiber couch? Mine ended up full of tiny fabric pieces. You live...you learn. 

Once I had everything cut up, I formed my little flowers. This was incredibly easy to do. You place the biggest on the bottom and pile the rest on top, in order of size. I took the needle and thread and sewed them together in the middle, twisted the fabric to create a little dimension and then proceeded to sew the flower to the lamp. 

Oh, I forgot to mention that before I sewed anything, I glued on a layer of fabric circles to my lamp shade as a kind of backer. My lamp shade was not white, and I did not want any of the actual shade showing through in the end. 


After several hours of sewing (and gluing pieces down that were falling over - I would suggest using a thicker fabric for this project since mine was not a fan of hanging vertically), I finally finished!

All there was left to do was add the new shade to the old lamp and place it on my desk for all to see! Though this project took a lot longer than I had expected (don't they always?), I am very happy with the result and LOVE it in my living room. It's just perfect. Don't you think?

Woman Vs. Bathroom Remodel: Round 1

I have been putting off this bathroom remodel for about 6 months. The main reason was that I knew it would take a long time...and I will admit that the sheer enormity of the task scared me. I was afraid I would be bathroom-less forever. I finally got up the nerve to this lovely 3-day weekend because, well...it was about damn time. Here is what the old bathroom looked like:

Left side - notice the ugly shell sink and the broken hot water knob

This is the right side - yes, that is an ugly green CARPET

So, along with the 80's feel of the bathroom, the horrible green carpet and equally disgusting green paint, it just looked dingy all the time. It needed a major facelift, and I was prepared. Or so I thought. 

Saturday morning I woke up full of energy and hope. I began demo work and it was not as therapeutic as I have been led to believe. This could be because I was trying to cause as little damage as necessary to the walls, or because it took almost all day. 

Behind the mirror were some bits and pieces of wallpaper from a long lost era and honestly, if it had been in better shape, I might have kept it. Trends always come back and I believe we are in another wallpaper craze right now. Alas, no wallpaper for me this time. 

Once I had removed everything from the bathroom (with a little help from boyfriend, who helped carry the obnoxiously heavy countertop downstairs), it was pretty much the end of the day and I was done. Done for the day. I wanted to paint, but just couldn't talk myself into it. 

Nevertheless, I got it done! 

So, first thing Sunday morning, I wake up and pick up the paintbrush, even before I make a pot of coffee. That's dedication, folks. It took about an hour and a half to paint everything (I also tackled the other side of the bathroom where the toilet and bathtub reside). The color I "chose" is called Antique Silver and I say "chose" because it was left over paint from my kitchen, and hey...why not? Anything is better than that green. 

I installed the vanity that I had bought 6 months ago, it came already assembled, so it was simply a matter of securing it to the wall with a few screws. Next came the countertop and faucet. I chose to install the faucet first because it was easier while the sink was not connected to the vanity. This was not that difficult, except that I could not find my instructions, so I had to wing it. Everything seems to work right and I did not end up with extra pieces. :)

Next, I had to move the junction box for the light fixture since I planned on putting in shelving to the right of the vanity and had to recenter the light over the new vanity. Not very difficult really, but it did require patch work on the wall. It was worth it though, because I love the new light! 

I cheated on the shelves and made a trip to IKEA instead of building my own. Hey, it was already Monday and I was tired. Still had the plumbing to work out and I needed a win. The shelves were easy to put together and look beautiful. Though there is still the little problem of flooring to be done and finishing touches here and there...it is coming along quite nicely.

What do you think? I think it is a great improvement already and cannot wait for it to be finished! Let me know what you think of the medicine cabinet. I kind of want to keep it and make it my shrine to OPI to display my crazy nail polish obsession, but not quite sure. I am open to suggestions, too, so just let me know!

DIY Drum Shade Light

Let me begin by saying that I am working on the jewelry tree, but it is not quite finished, so I will blog about that later. Today, I decided to tackle the much hated light fixture in what will eventually be my dining nook. Right now it houses my many tools, some extra tile, a bathroom vanity that I will one day install and countless other goodies. 


This is what the old light fixture looked like:

I believe this is the cheapest "chandelier" you can buy and it just screams "boring," so I had to do away with it. I looked online for some inspiration and settled on putting up a drum shade light. Sounded easy enough. Here are some of the ones I liked:

Luckily, I already had a drum shade at home (from an awesome lamp I bought at Marshall's a few months back). I was a little sad to take the drum shade from the lamp, but it was for a good cause. :) 

Isn't it beautiful?

I decided that I liked the simple wire and chain from the old light fixture, so I did not buy a new light kit. The only other thing I needed was a light socket, which I picked up for about $3.50 at the local Home Depot. 

After turning off the breaker (very important!) and stripping (if that's the correct terminology) the old plastic to expose the wire, I attached the wire to the light socket. It was quite simple, I figured since I had no idea which wire went where, I would try it one way and if that failed, do it the other way. Luckily, I was able to get it right the first time. 

Voila!

Isn't it great?! I attached the drum shade via some extra chain links and hung it on a swag because I like the look. The best part: this light is on a dimmer switch that I installed about a month ago. Ambiance lighting here I come!

I think it's a major improvement...now I just need to find a new drum shade for my poor, naked lamp. Oh daaarn, must go shopping...tee hee!

Happiness is a Handmade Duvet

I had been eyeing this duvet from West Elm for a very long time, but just could not rationalize coughing up over $100 for it. 

Instead, I did some research on the internet and found a DIY version from a fellow blogger: Living on the Chic. I have fallen in love with Trissta's blog and have found many other DIY projects on her blog that I MUST take on! This weekend, I actually made the duvet!


If you read her blog, you will see that she was able to find some sheets at the local thrift store and saved bcps money. I wasn't that patient, so I found mine at Target for $13/each. After asking around, I managed to borrow a 1973 Singer Genie sewing machine from my friend, Shannon's mom (one of her 6 sewing machines?!). She even threaded the thing for me (which I ended up somehow undoing and having to spend hours figuring out how to make work again). Once I figured it out (thank you online instructions), it worked like a dream!

The first step in the process is to mark out all your little sections where you will be creating the pintucks. I did this with some eyeliner, mostly because I figured it would wash out when I threw it in the laundry and also because I'm not a seasoned sewing genius with practical sewing tools (such as a sewing pencil) just laying around. I have a picture of this, but it's hard to see, so if you need to see this in action, check out Trissta's blog. Once I had everything marked out, I started making the pintucks. I did this by hand because I had not quite figured out the sewing machine and I had no other option. It is really easy to do, just pick up the fabric, twist it and sew in place.

I made sure to have these very secure in order to avoid having to redo them in the future if the seams came out. Once this was done, I contemplated how long it would take me to sew the two Queen size sheets together into a duvet...by hand. I think it only took me 2.5 seconds to realize that this was an impossible idea - so I tried AGAIN to make the Singer Genie work. After giving up several times, researching on the internet and finally just simply following the directions that my friend gave me on threading the machine, it all worked! After that, it only took about 15 minutes to actually sew the sheets together. I even added a little fabric to create bows at the bottom (from leftover fabric).

The finished product is gorgeous and I even did the same design to an extra pillow case to complete the project. 


Total cost:
Queen Sheets - $27
Sewing Machine - FREE! (borrowed)


Savings:
$100 (when including a pillow sham)


Yes, it took some time, but I learned how to use a sewing machine in the process and I feel really good about the final product. Next up: Perhaps this beautiful jewelry tree (made from an actual branch!)? 

www.centsationalgirl.com

-Sara