A Lesson In Patience Through The Art Of Butter Cream Frosting

Over the years, I have wrestled with the quest for the perfect butter cream frosting. I had made many valiant attempts at confectionery perfection, but was always one step behind. Often times, when I would bake a cake that required frosting, I would cheat and buy frosting in a can or I would make a frosting using milk, flour, granulated sugar and shortening. Last Sunday, however, I didn't have patience to endure the grocery store. I did have available in my cupboard butter, milk, cocoa powder and confectioner's sugar. I decided to be approach this butter cream challenge with thoughtful planning and pre-game research.

I really wanted chocolate cake; so like any baker desiring cake while lacking motivation, I used a box mix. After adding extra cocoa powder and a tablespoon of instant coffee granules to the batter I placed the cake into the oven and waited. It was then that I removed my butter for my butter cream from the refrigerator and left it out to come to room temperature.

Making certain that my butter was at room temperature was my first strategic move. Most times when I make a frosting, I'm making it on the fly and I'm never properly prepared.  This time would be different. When the cake was out of the oven and properly cooled, the butter was at the perfect temperature for making frosting. The second change to my frosting preparation was measuring and mixing ingredients ahead of time. First, I blended the cocoa powder with the confectionery sugar, making sure that all the lumps were broken and the powders were mixed well. Then, I measured and mixed my milk and vanilla. 

I had my wet ingredients in one cup, set aside and my dry ingredients in a bowl placed next to the cup of milk mixture. This might seem silly, but having these ready before I made the frosting was a big help. The biggest and most important change I made to my frosting was 1) the type of bowl I used: medium and deep, and 2) time. Usually when I would try to make butter cream, I'd never whip the butter long enough. Once the butter started to fly out of my mixing bowl I would add sugar, mix add cocoa powder, mix then add the liquids and mix. I would do this as quickly as possible so that I wouldn't make a huge mess. I would still have clumps of butter flicked all over the counter, the wall and even the cupboard doors.

This time was different. Using a deep bowl helped to control the butter better and it allowed me to whip the butter for 5 minutes! That seems like a ridiculously long time compared to how long I'd usually take. This required a lot of patience on my part, as well as faith in what I was doing. I had to trust myself. Once the butter was a pale yellow, I turned off the mixer. I added the cocoa powder mixture, a little at a time and I used a butter knife to mix it together. Once all of the dry ingredients were added, I then add the milk and vanilla mixture. Again, I used a butter knife to blend it together. Once everything was evenly blended, I turned the mixture back on and whipped the frosting until it was fluffy.

It was amazing! The frosting was fluffy and tasted like fudge. It was easy to apply to my cake and the frosting never separated! A first in my history with butter cream frosting. I have finally mastered butter cream and it all came down to preparation and patience. Axl Rose was right, that patience thing is really all we need!

Until next time~ Toodahloo!

Refashioning A T-Shirt Into A Dress

Back in the Spring, I spotted a t-shirt marked down to $4.00 and thought it would be fun for a refashion project. The shirt was a simple black and white striped cotton t-shirt with cuffed sleeves. I grabbed a medium and a large. I thought that I would use both of the shirts to make a dress, but I later decided to use the medium and gave the large to my Mum. I decided that a solid t-shirt would make an interesting contrast to the look of the dress.

I began the project by cutting the shirt two inches below the arm pit. I did the same with the solid blue t-shirt that I decided to use for the project.

Next, I paired the upper part of the striped shirt with the bottom of the solid shirt. Joining the cut edges, with the right sides facing, I sewed a straight 1/4 inch seam.

After seeing that the seam was (slightly) uneven, I stitched the seam again and made the seam straighter. Then, I took the bottom of the striped shirt, matched the cut edge to the bottom of the solid t-shirt and sewed another 1/4 seam.

 After making certain that everything was straight, I ironed the dress.

For a finishing touch, I added 1/4 elastic to the waist. I cut the elastic half the length of the solid section; this way, I could stretch the elastic as I sewed it in place. The end result was a lovely ruched waist. This also adjusted the hemline, bringing the length just above the knee.

This is a very comfortable dress which will be perfect to wear on really hot and humid days. It was such an easy project and I like the way the dress came out. I think I might want to do another ugly dress refashion and I have the perfect dress in mind. I hope to tackle that soon.
 Until next time~ Toodahloo!

Waiting For A Rainy Day

This lovely gem arrived in my mail today. I ordered the dvd set from amazon.com, a few days ago, and stalked my package via order track. I'm waiting for a rainy day to cozy up with a bowl of popcorn and a latte while I indulge in this masterpiece.
When I first began this blog, I was (regularly) watching the show on CBC.  I totally understood the main character and it was a mix of drama with a bit of comedy and a dash of sci- fi.  The season would end around mid December and in the summer I'd see commercial teasers for the show's return in the Fall. I always looked forward to this show. Sadly, after four years, the show ended. Although I was bummed that the show was over, I could still get my fix on hulu.com. The problem with watching the show on hulu.com was that the shows aired as they were viewed on the Soap Opera Network. The version that aired on that channel was very edited, just not the same as originally aired. Also, hulu.com failed to get the final season of the show. Then, one day, hulu stopped providing a single episode.
I had toyed with the idea of obtaining the show on dvd for a while, but waited to see if Netflix would snag it. The website has other CBC shows, like Heartland, Murdoch Mysteries, they even have 18 To Life. I figured that over time, they would get Being Erica, considering how popular the show was. I gave up hope and began hunting amazon.com for deals. I was able to find season one for a fraction of the original asking price. I'm very glad that I waited to get this.
The great thing about buying shows on dvd, compared to watching them on Netflix or hulu, is all the fun extras that come on the dvd's. Those lovely additions are never available to stream. So, this purchase was the best choice. I will be keeping an eye on the barometer for any changes and consulting my weather app for the forecast and when I see rain coming...I'll be ready!
Until next time~ Toodahloo!

Some Crafts Fail

There days when I think that I am an extraordinary marvel at crafting. Then, there are other days when I think that my heart just isn't in it. Then, there are those days when my heart has grown two sizes, I have jazz hands and everything that surrounds me is glitter, rainbows and unicorn smiles. When those glitter/unicorn smile days occur, nothing can stop me..not even a mediocre craft fail.

I had the perfect supplies: recycled olive jar, Gallery Glass Window Color, satin ribbon and glue. What could go wrong? I've used the glass paint numerous times over a span of 10 years; I have a fairly good handle on that. I thought I would make a lovely marble style votive candle holder. I applied the paint with ease, swirled it around and left it to dry on a windowsill. I figured the draft would help to speed up the drying process.
What I didn't take into account, or rather who I didn't take into account, was the cat. On sunny days, the cat does love to nap on the windowsill. With all of the windows in my house, I didn't consider worrying on what the cat might or might not do. It wasn't until the end of the day that I discovered that the cat had fun rolling the jar back and forth. At first, I thought that it would be fine, that she just marbleized the jar more. Upon further examination, I discovered a spot where the excess paint pudding into one place, creating one murky looking mess on the side of the jar. I tried to fix it, but nothing could be done.

Undaunted, I glued a satin ribbon on the top rim of the jar and placed a candle inside. It is a functioning candle holder. I think that it will grow on me, even though it didn't turn out as I had envisioned. Perhaps by Fall, I will warm up to it even more and enjoy spicy scented candles in it. I will look upon it as the craft project that I did with the cat; and love it more for it. Really, at the end of the day it's just an old olive jar with a candle inside, no matter how much I decorate it, it is what it is.

In other news, I intended to make a dress today, but the moment passed when my time was devoured by what was supposed to be a simple addition to my blog. If I work everything correctly, I will get a Facebook badge on the blog which will direct you to my new Facebook page. The page is listed under Lady Toesocks. Also, I might or might not be changing the name of the blog. I am still on the fence about this. It all depends on 1) if I have to and 2) if I am able to do so. I will keep you updated on that. Hopefully, I will complete the dress project tomorrow and post about it on Sunday. Until then~ Toodahloo!

The Wacky Summer Weather

Over the past week in New England, the weather has gone from sweltering sauna, to soggy boggy rain, to fall-like chilly. When you go from sleeping with no covers, with the fans on and all windows open- to full blankets, fleece sleep pants and tightly shut windows, the weather is wacky! When it was in the high 90's to low 100's, it was far too hot for me to want to do anything but binge on Netflix shows. When it is that hot outside, I am far too cranky and sleepy to be inspired to create anything. Finally, the rain arrived, just in time for the 4th of July celebrations! Hurricane Arthur danced his way up the east coast, bringing with him strong winds and buckets of rain. Although the gardens were super happy for the rain, the holiday campers were a bit bummed out.
The bright side to this rainy weather was that it finally cooled down the outside temperature, which enabled me to bake! So, I baked a big batch of carrot cake cupcakes, with cream cheese frosting, and mini blueberry pies.

I must admit, I did use a bake cake mix for the cupcakes. However, the pastry used for the blueberry pies was made from scratch. OH, these pies are yummy! I hope that his current weather stays around so that I may continue to complete more creative projects. Until then~ Toodahloo!

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Summer

Summer is, certainly here! Now that it's July 1st, it is very hot outside. I went kayaking, last week. It was gorgeous outside; not too hot, but lovely. I was hoping to see a lot of wildlife, ie. turtles, beaver, fish. Alas, I only saw a loon. However, there is still plenty of time to see creatures throughout the summer. I do think these lily pads are very pretty. I love to look at them whenever I kayak through them.

The peony bush bloomed. The flowers were huge and fragrant. I was really looking forward to enjoying them. Then, one night, it rained hard and the flowers drooped to the ground and they didn't last long after that. They were beautiful while they lasted!

The bees are loving the sage flowers. I don't usually let the sage flower, but I left them alone, this time. The herb garden is starting to smelly dreamy.

Daisies really do complete a summer garden.

This week will be filled with holiday, birthday and bicentennial celebrations. I hope to keep up with the blog as these events happen. I think I'll be far too busy for crafts, but who knows?
 Until then~ Toodahloo!

Easy Wall Art

Back when I first started this blog, I would often write about my admiration for the CBC show Being Erica. I regularly watched the show as it aired on CBC. After four seasons, the show ended and I was left without the adventures of "Erica Strange."

One of my favorite things about he show was Erica's apartment. I loved the set and the way the set designer decorated the apartment. On the wall of Erica's bathroom was a poster that read "Keep Calm and Carry On;" this message was very fitting for the theme of the show. I had never seen the poster elsewhere, this was before the Keep Calm trend took off. I went on the internet to research the poster and find a place to buy one. It was interesting to see the origins of the poster and how they were used in England, fun history, really. I have found various copies of the print online. I even have a mug and a journal with the message printed on them. However, I have never found a version that I really loved. I have kept an eye out for what I wanted and nearly gave up. Then, I went to the Dollar Tree and found wall stickers made by Main Street Wall Creations which had the Keep Calm message for you to stick on your wall. I bought the wall stickers and decided to be creative...

I happened to have stretched canvas, white latex wall paint, a paint brush and lavender acrylic craft paint on hand. I used lavender and lilac acrylic craft paint to tint white latex wall paint; which I used to coat the entire surface of the canvas.

I painted 4 coats of lavender paint, waiting for each to coat to dry before applying another. Once the paint was completely dry, I then placed the stickers onto the canvas. I used my journal, with the Keep Calm phrase printed on the cover, as a guide as to where the place the stickers. I also used a ruler to locate the center of the canvas; this enabled me to eyeball the approximate placement of each sticker.

I really like the end result. It was very easy to do and a very inexpensive project. Considering I already had most of the materials for the project on hand, I only invested $1.00 to make this wall art. Now, I have the poster that I always wanted! If you find this sticker, or another sticker that you like, at the Dollar Tree, this is very easy to do. You can purchase acrylic craft paint for $.50- $1.00 and if you can't find a stretched canvas, you could buy a cheap painting at a thrift store and blank out the painting with white or black craft paint before adding layers of the color that you want for your poster. This project could be made with a very small investment. So, keep an eye out at those summer yard sales for fun future projects and have fun! Until next time! Toodahloo!

The Most Important Meal Of The Day

I can tell the sort of day I am going to have, based on the breakfast that I eat that day. The breakfast featured above is poached eggs on top of avocado on whole wheat English muffins. I've seen this breakfast idea on Pinterest countless times. I love poached eggs, so I thought I'd give it a try. It was delicious! However, there is one thing that people never warn you about. Poached eggs layered on top of avocado are very slippery- good luck keeping that together. Not to mention that fact that poached eggs are messy. Once you bite into the yoke, that's it, prepare yourself for a messy breakfast. One of my poached eggs slipped off of the plate and onto the floor, making a delicious treat for Fred to enjoy. Although the breakfast is fast and easy to make, it is tricky to eat. When I made this, my heart was in the right place. I wanted to do something good for myself, but eating it was a comic performance.

This plate of cottage cheese pancakes topped with bananas and syrup, shows that I still took the time to make myself something filling, slightly healthy and tasty. It also says that I don't care about my desire to avoid sugar, that morning. I might have been eating my emotions.

This smoothie that I made, this morning, says "Hey, you're too tired to function. Make yourself a high protein banana smoothie and keep things low maintenance." So, I did, it was for the best. Not every day can be absolutely perfect. Some days are hectic, others are low key. Some days, I wake up and I remember all of the things that I need to accomplish by the end of the day. Which is why some days I eat hazelnut spread stuffed crepes and other days I eek by with black coffee and toaster pastry. Really it's all okay, I'm thankful to have options and the materials on hand from which to choose. Summer will be here soon and I can't wait to just enjoy it. Until next time~ Toodahloo!

Warm Days In New England

I am finally experiencing warm weather days! It was a late start, but well worth the wait. The weather has been lovely, with a few days of rain. The lupines and irises are up and soon I'll see my peonies bloom. Lately, I've also seen wild animals that I've never before seen in my backyard. Aside from the family of skunks that have always inhabited the nooks and crannies of the yard. This week, I saw a chipmunk and two woodpeckers. It was actually exciting to see new life here. Fred is very excited about these encounters whereas, I am just trying to prevent an altercation.

The veggie garden has been planted and I am working on a scrappy garden. When I have completed that project, I'll post more about that. Also, I've expanded the herb patch. I should see a tremendous garden haul, if the weather proves to be accommodating.

I'm really looking forward to all the delicious masterpieces that I'll be able to create from the garden pickings and posting about them too. Until next time~ Toodahloo!

Dormez Vous?

A sleep mask that I repaired after I broken the original band.

Over the past month, I've had a difficult time staying asleep. There is nothing that is bothering me that would cause me to wake, early in the morning. For some strange reason, I wake up at 3 am and I can't seem to get back to sleep until sunrise. This was really beginning to be problematic, in that it messed up my schedule for the remainder of the day. Then, I began to think about what was going on, and I remembered that this same thing happened to me last Spring. I decided that there must be some issues with the transition of the seasons.

I then decided to consider slight changes that I could make in my bedtime ritual that could aid in an easier sleep. Here are some things that I've done which have made a big difference in my sleep quality: 1) I shut the tv off when I am done watching tv for the night. I had gotten into the habit of falling asleep to the sound of a television, I ended that.
2) I don't eat any food at least an hour before bed time.
3) I don't concern myself with the things that I need to get done the next day. I save that for the morning when it actually matters.
4) Lastly, I sleep with a sleep mask. I know this seems weird, maybe even high maintenance. However, the mask cancels out light, which relaxes me. Also, I found that I had been waking up with terrible headaches. This was because, once the sun rose, I'd squint my eyes to block out the sun. The strain on my facial muscles was causing the headaches. Not to mention that it could have led to premature aging, no thank you!

A sleep mask that I made with reversible fabric.

Yesterday, I broke the elastic band on a sleep mask that I use. I actually have several on hand. I used the mask to make a stencil to make another sleep mask. Then I repaired the mask. The sleep mask above, I made with soft fleece and flannel fabric and I reused on old elastic band from another craft project. The sleep mask at the top is velvet on one side and satin on the other side. Soft fabric is key, because you don't want to irritate the delicate skin around your eyes. Also, a soft fabric that isn't itchy won't wake you in the middle of the night. 

Sleep masks can often be found at department stores, in the spa section, for very little money. It has been tremendously helpful in increasing the quality of my sleep. I now wake refreshed and full of energy for my day. Until next time~ Toodahloo!

Super Easy Peanut Butter Cheesy Marbled Brownies!

The other day, I was craving brownies; specifically, marble brownies. I decided the only way to get over those cravings, was to make some marble brownies. They are very easy to make. Here are some basic instructions for you, in case you find yourself craving these yourself!

Ingredients:
1 box of brownie mix for a 9 x 13 in. pan
Any ingredients listed in the back of the brownie mix box
1 tsp. instant coffee granules
2 tbsp. cocoa powder

4 oz. softened cream cheese
1/4 c. peanut butter
2 tbsp. confectioners sugar
2 tbsp. milk
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla extract

So, I began with the brownie batter. I placed the mix into a bowl and I added the cocoa powder and coffee granules and mixed them together. Then, I added the ingredients that are listed on the back of the box and I set the bowl aside. This is when I preheated the oven and prepared the baking pan with butter spray.

I had the cream cheese in a separate bowl, where I kept it at room temperature before I added the peanut butter.

Using a hand mixer, I blended the cream cheese and peanut butter until it was mostly blended. 

At a certain point, the mixture does get a bit stiff, this is when I add the powdered sugar, alternating with the milk and vanilla. Be careful to mix at the lowest speed so that the sugar doesn't fly out of the bowl. Otherwise, if you start at a high speed, even a moderately high speed, a huge mess will happen and you'll be wearing your mixture.

Once the sugar was blended into the mix, I added the egg and blended that in. Then, I spread the brownie batter into the prepared baking pan. I took large blobs of the peanut butter/ cream cheese mixture and placed them, at random points, on top of the brownie batter.

   

Using a rubber spatula, I gently spread the cream cheese/ peanut butter mixture on top of the brownie batter. It was a lot like frosting a cake. I just made certain that the mixture was spread on evenly.    

Finally, I ran a knife through the brownie batter and the cheese mixture. I did that in a swirling motion, being careful not to stir or mix the two together, but to feather them together. This made the marbling. Then, I baked the brownies according to the instructions on the back of the brownie mix box. After I allowed for a bit of cooling time, I enjoyed some very delicious brownies! I know it wasn't 100% from scratch, but I wasn't in the mood to make the entire treat. I really don't think that I had the patience for that. Plus, I really wanted those brownies and I didn't want to waste any time. It was that kind of day. If you decide to make these, I hope they work out for you! Until next time~ Toodahloo!