bits of happy

What a week. It was my birthday, which if you know me, is not usually something I like to talk about. I'm not sure exactly why, but I am not really big on celebrating my own birthday. Or its more like I hide away from everyone around my birthday.  ( I am not good with attention) But this year I tried. I had a couple little dinners with family, went on a few good hikes, gave the dog a bath (had to mention it because it was so needed and I was so happy to have a cleaner, less smelly dog..which lasted all of about 12 hours)  and tried to relax and enjoy myself. The mister and I also did a bunch of little house repair projects that have been needed to be done (Birthday wish list). All and all, I had a good week. And now the birthday week is over and we can get back to normal, not bugging me, hectic, crazy, life. That makes me happy. Here are a few of my happy bits from the big week.

 A birthday bouquet of veggies. My lover knows me oh so well.

I went to get myself a new skien if yarn and stumbled upon this wall display of sprinkles.. It took a lot to not buy a bunch.

 Every year I buy myself some special food for my birthday week. This is the bulk section at the local coop. They got in a bunch of new local dried beans!!!!  Local birthday week beans. ( yes, beans make me happy)

This hike was pretty treacherous, the whole trail was covered in this ice…. but look how cool it is. 

Huggable mountains

Birthday hike with big trees and a happy dog. 

 Split peas with tons of purple cabbage and purple onions plus chunks or bright orange carrots.. So freaking pretty and so freaking tasty!

And last but not least..a throw back that made me smile…Moving day last summer. Our truck full of my house plants. I love my plants. 

So now we go onto the last week of January! (holy crap, where has the time go?)

Have a great week!

-C

Make Yourself an Awesome Little Shelf

The conversation I had with my little brother on his birthday...

Me- "Happy Birthday!"

Bro- "Thanks"

Me- "What do you want to do.. want to come over, I'll make you something, anything you want…donuts, cake, pizza…"

Bro- "Make me a shelf, I got like seven books for my birthday"

Me- "Um, ok… what are you thinking?"

Bro- "Something to hold like seven books"

Yup, he got "like seven" books and needed a shelf……. I guess I didn't realize that "like seven" was a unit of measurement. Man, I love my little brother,  but sometime I wonder about the kid. Anyway, Being that coolest big sister he's got (and coolest big brother in law who did most of the work), we went along and made him a  shelf. Hopefully it holds those "like seven books".

Here is the list of what you will need to make the exact shelf with the same measurements that we used…but feel free to use and adjust the measurements to your want or need.

• 2 pieces of 1x8 common pine measuring 25 1/2 inches (sides)
• 2 pieces of 1x8 common pine measuring 17 1/2 (top and bottom)
• 1  piece od 1x8 common pine measuring 16 inches (middle shelf)
• 2 pieces of 1x8  common pine measuring 4 inches (legs)
• Wood glue
• About 20 (having a few extra never hurt) 2 1/4 inch finishing screws

Tools

• Drill
• Either a circular saw or a chop box to cut the legs
• Measuring tape
• Speed Square or something to make a perfect straight line

The legs are the hardest part to make and really, it's so not hard. Take both 4" pieces of pine and cut in half ( each piece will end up being 3  5/8".. how is that you ask? Well here is some knowledge… 1x8  pine actually measures 7  1/2 "…. nuts right?) With each piece, measure an inch in on the bottom and side…Draw a vertical line to connect and  then cut the line. Repeat last step with the second piece you just cut, then repeat the whole processes with the second piece  of 4" pine. These words seem a little confusing, just look at the picture above, it has all the measurements on it too. In the end, you should end up with 4 legs.

Take one of the 17 1/2" pieces and with a straight edge, draw two lines form opposite corners to find dead center.  Measure 8" from center on each line, that is where the legs are going to be placed. Working with one leg at a time, add a smear of wood glue to each leg as you are about to screw it down. Place leg on mark and sink a screw about an inch up from the inside of the leg, screwing at a slight angle (see photo)..

Phew.. this is the most complicated part of the whole shelf so once you get the legs on… its all smooth sailing.

Flip bottom onto legs and sink a screw in (1 inch in on both sides) into each leg.

Now grab the top piece (17 1/2 ") piece and the two sides pieces (25 1/2"). Add a bit of wood glue to the side ends and line up top piece with the sides.  Sink 2 screws into each side. If you have another person helping, have them hold the pieces for you while you screw the top into the sides.. if not, use the bottom to rest a side against (like in picture). 

Now flip over and screw the bottom piece into the sides……

Take a minutre…. Look at what you have accomplished! You have a kick ass square with legs!

Now place the shelf. We went for just about center.. 12 1/2"  from the bottom. Mark the measurements on both sides and use a square edge to draw a line.

Place shelf on the lines (The wood should fit in tight, you might even have to bang it a bit to get it into place….but you want it to fit nice and snug.) Now screw the shelf…two screws on each side.

Flip onto legs and ……….TA DA!!!! So Fancy!

 You now have a shelf to shelf things.. Simple as that. And I tested it out…It holds more the "like seven" books. A success! 

Note…...If you are feeling like you need to, use a little wood putty to fill in the screw holes. You can sand it if you want. You might even want to stain or paint it. Up to you. The shelf is made and is yours to do what you will. Me, I like it just the way it is.

If anyone out there takes this little shelf project up.. let me know how it goes, maybe even send a picture…and feel free to ask any questions!

Have fun building awesomeness!

-C

Bits of Happy

First week of the New Year.. and I am ready to take this year and ride it like a bull.(I don't know  exactly what that mean, but it sounds right) I am not a new years resolution kind of gal, but I am a goal oriented person and this week I have been thinking a lot about my goals and wishes for life…. and I am on my way..Nothing is going to stop me!(unless I end up getting arrested, but that is not a goal) Anyway, as always, the mister and I spent a good chunk of time with the family. Everyone's kids have had the past two weeks off and I think all of my sisters are about to kill a small child(possibly one of their own), so we tried to help out as much as we could.I mean, I am even happy that the kids all go back to school tomorrow. But it was a good week, we went to a bouncy castle birthday party (I didn't get to bounce..so sad)  and made balloon animals(well sort of. Nick knows how to do a few, I know how to make a snake and inappropriate jokes.) I got to bake a lot and test out a few new food recipes(tasty things to come!) Its been pretty freaking cold so we spent more time then usual indoors which meant I got to read a lot.  We even cleaned out the basement and made it more human friendly..and didn't kill each other doing it! All in all, not a bad start to the new year.  Here are some happy highlights.

New Years Eve hike. Anything outside makes me happy.This giant tree fell over on the trail and it looked so pretty. And yes, Washer looks handsome  too. 

        My Grammy Stems Poppy seed roll recipe…My Dad makes them every year and this is the first time I ever made them. I split the recipe in half( the recipe make 6 huge rolls) and turned one of the rolls into little rolls. Those little rolls might be one of the prettiest things I have ever made. I am going to be making them again soon. 

We had to take out Christmas tree down…which is kind of sad, but I stopped watering it and Nick stopped watering it….and it turned into fire tinder.  Nick took the popcorn garland from the tree and lined the fence…. that made up for not having the tree anymore. Best Christmas present ever…The Mister paid off my outrageous library fine so I can start taking books out again.!(what a guy) I am reading both of these at the moment… and both are excellent!  I kinda don't want to do anything but read. 

This situation going on here…sometimes the most simplest of ingredients make the best dishes… This blue arrow, a marker in the woods. I love arrows

A visit to a green house. I am a house plant slut…I have a ton and always want more.  But ever since we moved into our little cave(it has almost zero natural light) my plants have been sad and I am trying my hardest to keep them happy.  I was on the hunt for some plant food to keep my green babies alive and I found myself happily wondering this greenhouses. I think everyone should have a green house full of plants, it's impossible to not feel good in a light warm room of color. 

 Freshy snow walk. Our feet were the first to lay tracks around the neighborhood. Our feet are awesome.

I love my little kitchen wall, but I would love a little more space/storage/light. I am dreaming up a few kitchen projects for the mister and I to tackle, maybe more shelves, some hooks..Maybe a big old hole in the wall? I spend a lot of time fantasizing about little ways to make the kitchen a little more awesome(it's pretty awesome now) But I mean, a window would make everyone happy. Just an idea…We will see.

So yeah,  the little bits.

Hope You all had a great week and are staying warm and cozy!

-C

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Bits of Happy

Another week has flown by….whew……. But it was such a good week. The mister had a birthday that I think went pretty good. We received a fair amount of snow that turned the world into a snow globe. We took our first road trip in the new car down to NYC to visit Nicks brother his girlfriend.(They were awesome..We had a great time) And now we are home. .…. a lot of happy things this week.It's kind of turned into a Nick birthday tradition for us to hike up Mount Philo. We started with a couple inches of snow and a little freezing rain at the bottom of the trail and ended at the summit hiking in a foot of snow. So beautiful.            Our Christmas tree tradition. Every year after we cut our tree down, we string up the lights, pop a giant bowl of popcorn and string it up for the tree while watching Elf. I look forward to this night for weeks. We started stringing popcorn too many years ago when we were living in our first apartment. We didn't have any ornaments or money so we just did popcorn. Then we added Elf to the tradition. How can it get better? It's really the highlight of the season.                                                   The tree…….minus the ornaments. I am still up in the air about putting anything else on it this year, I love the way it looks now.

A kitchen supply store in NYC. I could have spent the entire day in this store. There was something for everything. I walked out with nothing. It's ok, I can always go back.

The Chelsea Market in NYC was really fun. Its located in such a sweet building with a bunch of neat little shops. We made our way there for the Etsy craft fair which was really cool. We even made it early enough for the door prizes!  And just look at these light!  By far the best light display I have seen this year.Nick and I always joke about getting a bike with a side car…..I think it was meant to be.Waking up earlier then everyone else and hitting the streets. Walking around the lower east side at 6 am on a saturday is really fascinating. The streets were almost complexity empty and there was less of a  hurry hurry energy. I got to see the sun coming up. A bowl of delicious grapes. Can make anyone happy, right.

Ahh,, and back to Sunday. I am going to clean, unpack, shovel a bit and get ready for the week. Then I am going to hang  with the puppy(I missed him) and I am also going to drink to much coffee, read and nap throughout the day. A low key kind of day. I think I kind of deserve it, and I think you deserve a day to do what you want too!

Hope you have some happy!!!

Banana Brown Butter Blondie's

I don't know what got into my head today, but I was hell bent on making blondes. I was already committed to make cupcakes with the help of a little little, but, not going to lie, the cake was coming from a box. It wasn't going to satisfy my baking itch. You see, it's the misters birthday this week and tonight was the family B-day dinner. My family consists of a whole lot of people, and half of them are 13 and under. So instead of busting my butt baking an amazing 4 tiered strawberry chocolate cream cheese cake for kids who won't even try it(that was last week, the cake came out fantastic and everyone but the birthday girl ate it. But maybe a 2 year old doesn't need to like strawberry cake) I decided that I was going boxed and low and behold,  they loved  Hey, sometimes you gots to make the people happy. But I really wanted to do something else, something a little more special, something for the more mature pallet……..banana brown butter blondes…..Oh yea, I did and I did.

Not a heck of a lot of ingredients. Flour, sugar, banana, butter, egg and vanilla. I always forget something in my ingredient line up pics. Today it was the cinnamon, but thats ok, its optional anyway.

         Start with browning the butter… lots of lovely little bits. Smells super nutty.. You want to do it first so it can cool a little before using.Cooled butter mixed with the brown sugar.(I might have jumped the gun a bit and hit was still slightly warm)  Make sure when you add the butter you add all the little flavor bits. Mix or beat it up. then add the vanilla and egg.Now mash up and mix in the nanaers. Swirl it in, just like that. Now is a good time to add a little cinnamon… but don't add it if your don't want too. I don't know how I ended up using like five different mixing instruments for this little batch of brownies, but I did, and I definitely trashed the kitchen. First off, I was at my sisters and I don't know where she puts all of stuff.(She doesn't either) Secondly, I was also making cupcakes and garlic bread, pasta, and salad at the same time…so maybe that all made me a little more messy than usual…..Whatever. its ok, I cleaned it up. Anyway, above you see me using an electrical beater to mix in flour. I used the beater for the cupcakes and then started used it in the brownies..It was fine,  I used low speed for just a sec but I would recommend to just stir in the flour..Try not to overwork the batter.

Ready for the pan…..Its a bit thick, which is good.  Your going to have to scoop it more than pout it. Make sure to spread it evenly in pan and not just plop it in and stick it into the oven. Aaaahhh, so darn pretty.And cut into little squares..I love the casserole dish in this picture.… my sister might not ever get it back. To add a little something something, I went and added a small smear of Nutella on half the batch……I think it was a good idea.

Banana Brown Butter  Blondies

• 1/2 cup (1 stick)unsalted butter
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon(optional)
• 1 medium mashed banana

Preheat oven to 350

Place butter in a small pot or pan over medium heat. Stir frequently until the butter is completely melted and starting to foam. It will start to smell nutty and turn brown within a few minutes…when its a medium brown, take of heat and let cool.( I stick my in the freezer in a shallow pan to help cool faster.)

Once butter has cooled a bit, cream together with the brown sugar. In a small bowl, mash banana. Add egg, vanilla and banana. mix together, then mix in flour until just incorporated. Scoop batter into a grease 8x8 pan and spread evenly. Place in oven for about 20 minutes or until golden brown..It should be cooked all the way through but still a little gooey, moist and brownie like

Let cool and remove from pan….cut and do what you need to do! For a little more decadence..add a drizzle of chocolate or a bit of peanut butter. or do what I did, a smear of Nutella…and serve with the recommendation of a cold glass of milk.

I know your all curious about the cupcake so I'll show you…I actually made cupcake and a two layered 4 inch cake for the birthday boy. I know, I know…. and the bright pink frosting. It's actually pretty amazing. That kind of color doesn't excises in nature.

HAPPY ALMOST BIRTHDAY LOVE!!!!!!!!!!