Getting Crafty Around The House! Unleashing The Inner Princess

There's one little confession I have to make, I love sparkles. That's my little weakness, Not too much, but there's something about a little glitter that just makes me melt lol! When it comes to a manicure, I love to have my ring finger all glittered up!

So I went again to the dollar store and created these cute little crafts to jazz up my home! I had to unleash my inner Princess!

No one will ever know that it came from the dollar store!

A plain plastic cup that was only one dollar was transformed into this pretty container to house all of my brushes and so easy to make!

Brush Your Container With Modge Podge

Brush With Sprinkles and Let Dry For 24-48 Hours and Seal With An Acrylic Sealer and You're Done!

I found a plain stainless steel napkin ring and put on the glitz!

Brush the Modge And Then The Glitter and Let Dry. Then Seal

A great economical project if you're hosting a dinner party. Adding an expensive look at a small price.

A Big Happy Mother's Day to All of You!

I want to personally wish all mothers a Happy Mother's Day. We would not be here without you! Muah! I dedicate this blog to my mother. She has inspired me. From a little girl cooking/baking, entertaining, arts and crafts, housekeeping etc. has been taught to me by my mother. And I could not thank her enough!

Today we all went out for breakfast to celebrate this occasion. As I am writing this I cannot breathe for how full I feel. I made myself some detox water and would like to share with you! I always keep flavored water in the fridge. Just to add some flavor to the water.

Mango Ginger Water

 

Mango Ginger Water

1/2 cup mango

a slice of ginger

fill a water bottle or mason jar with water or sparkling water

Let it infuse for 2-4 hours

Lemon Blueberry Water

 

Lemon/Blueberry Water


Add a 1/4 cup of blueberries and a few wedges of lemon into your mason jar or canteen and fill with water or sparkling water. Let stand in the refrigerator for 2-4 hours to let the flavors infuse into the water.

Chocolate Toffee Cookies

This cookie will not disappoint. I love to bake. When I want to say thank you, send well wishes etc., I make this recipe. I usually wrap this up in a nice bowl or pretty box and present as a gift. You cannot stop at one. The added Skor bits complete this cookie.

Chocolate Toffee Cookies

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F


4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) butter, softened
1 1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 tbsp. vanilla extract
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup white chocolate chips
1/2 cup skor bits

Combine flour, baking powder and baking soda in medium bowl. Beat butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar in large mixer bowl until creamy. Beat in eggs and vanilla extract. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in chocolate and skor bits. Drop dough by tablespoonfuls on ungreased cookie sheets.

Bake for 12-14 minutes or until golden brown. Cool.

Old Fashioned Pound Cake

A friend of mine shared her family's pound cake recipe with me which I love to make. She brings this cake in to work to share with us and on special occasions. This is where simple just tastes so good. Only a few ingredients and you have such a moist, buttery cake. She uses almond extract which gives a nice almond taste. If that's not your thing, you can use a lemon extract to substitute. That's why I love baking. I always like to tweak recipes to how I like it.

Old Fashioned Pound Cake

Old Fashioned Pound Cake

1/2 lb butter (at room temperature)
1 2/3 cups granulated sugar
5 eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
2 tsp almond extract or you can use vanilla or lemon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F

Grease an 8 inch tube cake pan

Cream butter well. Add sugar, a tablespoon at a time, mixing well. Then add eggs, one at a time. Then add flour, a couple of tablespoons at a time. Almond flavoring comes last.

Pour into your prepared cake pan and bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until cake tester comes out clean.

Homemade Ricotta

When my mother was growing up, she lived in a very small Italian village called Roccamontepiano. It was a small village located at the tip of the Gran Sasso Mountains near the City of Chieti. The current population is about 1800 people. When she grew up, they lived off the land. They did not have the convenience of hopping into the car and go to the grocery store. They had their own chickens, sheep and cultivated their own vegetables. Water was fetched every day from the well. The day was spent either in the fields, tending the animals, cooking or making household items (including their own fabric).

I am going to share with you today a recipe on how to make homemade ricotta. Nothing beats homemade ricotta!

Ingredients

2L (8 cups) whole milk
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 tsp salt
juice of one lemon

large sieve and cheesecloth

Line a large sieve with the cheesecloth and place it over a large bowl.

Bring the milk, cream and salt to a rolling boil in a heavy pot over medium heat, stirring occasionally to prevent scorching. Add the lemon juice and reduce the heat to low and stir constantly. You are going to start seeing the milk to curdle. Stir for 15 minutes. Pour the mixture into the lined sieve and let drain for about an hour.

Pour the mixture into the lined sieve and let it drain for about an hour

Discard the liquid, cover the ricotta and refrigerate.

 

 

Ricotta can be eaten on its own, or as a delicious breakfast. Sweeten with some honey, blueberries, pumpkin seeds, walnuts and cinnamon.

Serve this as a snack or breakfast