It Ain't Easy Bein' Green

But it is easy findin' something green at Goodwill.

If you haven't been to a Goodwill lately (ever?), you may not know that the clothing is displayed by color...

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So, when you want something green, you go to the green section.

And if you're really lucky, you'll find a green JCrew jacket in your size (like I did!).

I love JCrew

At my local Goodwill, jackets are about $4.  At JCrew, they're $200 (currently on sale for $178!).

Some people have an issue buying clothes at Goodwill.  I'm clearly not one of these people.  As long as it's in good condition - no stains or tears, not excessively worn - I'm ok.  I do always wash it before wearing it though.  (otherwise, ick)

I know Winavie at Lemons & Chambray struggled this month, so I'm very anxious to see what she found!

Next month - April Showers!

Sweet & Sour

I came home from work Friday afternoon to find a box on my front porch (a box from my friend Winavie, who has the blog Lemons & Chambray).

Winavie has a lemon tree in her back yard (hence the name), and she sent me a box full of fresh lemons!

with a cute little origami heart!

So sweet!!

(Winavie, not the lemons.  The lemons are sour, as lemons should be.)

And when life hands you lemons, you make Starbucks Lemon Cake Copycat Recipe.

(Obviously.)

Ingredients

1½ cups flour

½ teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

3 eggs, at room temperature

1 cup sugar

2 tablespoons butter, softened

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 teaspoons lemon extract

⅓ cup of lemon juice

½ cup oil

zest of one lemon

GLAZE:

1 cup powdered sugar

2 tablespoons whole milk

½ teaspoon lemon extract

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350 and grease and flour a 9×5 loaf pan.
• In a large bowl, combine salt, baking soda, flour and baking powder and mix well.
• In a medium bowl, combine eggs, vanilla extract, lemon extract, butter, sugar and lemon juice with a mixer until well mixed.
• Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and blend until smooth.
• Add the oil and lemon zest and mix again.
• Pour mixture into loaf pan and bake for 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
• Towards the end of the cooking time, put your glaze ingredients in a small bowl and wisk together until blended.
• Remove cake from oven, pour glaze on top and let cool.

I wish I'd read this part sooner...

Notes

I like my glaze to stay a little thicker so I let my cake cool slightly before I pour on the glaze.

In spite of the fact that most of my glaze melted down the sides of the pan, this cake was delicious!

And luckily I have a lot more lemons, so I can try a lot more recipes (or a lot more cake!).

Thank you Winavie!

Breakthrough

I bought this house from a couple that had bought an RV and was hitting the road.  Since they obviously couldn't fit a whole house full of stuff into an RV, I inherited everything they couldn't get rid of, including A LOT of furniture.

The house has four bedrooms, and in an effort to make things easier for myself, their master bedroom became my master bedroom, their guest room became my guest room, their office became my office, and their... 

storage room?

became my storage room.

don't judge

But I could never figure out what to put where in any of those rooms.  I've moved dressers and bookcases back & forth (and back & forth, and...) for the past year and a half.

But then this past weekend, I was standing in doorway of "the red room" (partially red, as you can see), and had an idea...

the new master bedroom!

I moved everything out, tore up the carpet (and padding, and tack strips, and staples), and shifted the master bedroom over one.

I'm leaving the paneling (I really don't mind it!), but I will be painting the walls one color.  I'm thinking pink (!), specifically Wild Aster by Benjamin Moore.

Making it Lovely

I also need to:

1. refinish the floors
2. replace the blinds
3. replace the ceiling fan
4. replace the closet doors
5. and so on
6. and so forth...

Someday.

(Baby steps!)

The Frosting on the...

door?

Yes!

For some reason, the door to my basement was glass...

sorry for the reflection

It wouldn't really bother me, but this is the view...

lovely

I thought about replacing the door, but decided, on a whim, to try this first...

It took two cans, but it worked!

I also switched out the old (ugly!) brass doorknob for a new one in brushed nickel (all by myself!  It was surprisingly easy!!).

Very inexpensive, very easy and a huge improvement!

Laissez les Bon Temps Rouler!

Sometimes the timing is just so perfect you have no choice.

This past weekend, I bought an old, greasy (SO greasy!) deep fryer at an auction. 

(I'm becoming addicted to auctions.  I'm going to another one this weekend.)

It was gross.

But, I cleaned it (and cleaned it and cleaned it...), and it looked really good.

Then today I saw a recipe for beignets, which reminded me of New Orleans, which made me wonder when Fat Tuesday is.

Turns out, it's TODAY!

So, I printed the recipe, stopped at the grocery store on my way home and voilà...

I used this recipe from Paula Deen and they were really good!  Not quite Cafe du Monde good, but good.

Birdseed Heart

A long time ago (I just looked and it was exactly 2 years ago tomorrow!), I promised myself I'd do one project every month that I pinned on Pinterest.

I lied.

But I'm making up for it now!

Spring is coming to Iowa.  (Really!)  I know this because I've started to see birds.  And, because it's still zero degrees outside (literally), I started to worry...  

With all this snow on the ground, how will they eat?

Then I saw this cute little Birdseed Biscuit on Pinterest. 

It sounded easy (it was!), and I thought the birds would like it (they don't).

The day after Valentine's Day, I found this heart-shaped cookie cutter at Michael's for 29 cents (timing!),

followed the recipe...

1. Mix together the birdseed, flour, and 2 tablespoons of water.
2. Spray or wipe a cookie cutter with oil and place it on a foil-covered cookie sheet. 
3. Pack the mixture into the cutter, inserting half a straw near the top to create a hole for hanging.
4. Bake the biscuit (with the straw) in a 170º oven until the biscuit is hard, about one hour. 
5. Let it cool.

And now I have this!

So cute!

The birds, however, are not impressed.

All You Need is Love

Happy (Belated) Valentine's Day!

Last week, about an hour before the store closed on February 13, I stopped into the Goodwill in Maquoketa, hoping to find a heart shaped cookie cutter (for an upcoming project), and found a set of Pottery Barn Kids Valentine's Day placemats (still in the package!) instead.

Now, I don't have kids (or a Valentine), so why do I need kids Valentine's Day place mats?

Because they are SO cute!!!

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And they were only $2!

I also found these salt & pepper shakers, also by Pottery Barn, also still in the box, for $3 (original price $24).

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They have nothing to do with Valentine's Day (or love) whatsoever, but they're so cute!

Also this weekend, I tried a recipe that I've been seeing on Pinterest a lot lately (with good reason - it's SO good and SO easy!)

Crockpot Italian Chicken 

4 chicken breasts

1 packet Zesty Italian dressing seasoning

1 8 oz. cream cheese (softened)

2 cans cream of chicken soup

Cook on low for 4 hours. If sauce is too thick, add a little milk. 

Serve over pasta. 

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"Wowzers" indeed!

I may have to send these place mats to my friend Winavie at Lemons & Chambray (who actually does have kids and a Valentine!).  In the meantime, check out what Goodwill Hunting deals she found!

Next Month - It Ain't Easy Being Green!