Mirror Hat Rack

Tuesday 11/18/14

I am so sick of my husbands hats being strewn around the house in places they don't belong- like the kitchen table or the kitchen counter, where I make yummy food, ick! So.... I found these awesome old mirrors on Craigslist and bought them for like $30 each.

Then I painted them..

I found these foam balls at Michael's and wrapped them with twine by following THIS tutorial. The only difference is that I hot glued the balls to the mirror because the Command holders didn't hold them up at all under the weight of the hats and the balls kept falling off.

This is the finished product. We had too many hats to fit them all on, but we made do. They add a nice touch to our bare walls. 

Still doesn't keep his hats off the shoe rack and kitchen counter though!

Cookie Dough & Cinnamon Roll Cupcakes

Sunday 11/16/14

Ever have those days where you need to be in your happy place so you can forget about all the sad/stressful/annoying things that happened this week? Me too. Well, that place is my kitchen when I bake.

My grandpa died this week. He was sick and in Hospice, and this is what happens to grandparents right? Well fine. I accept that, but it doesn't make it hurt any less. So to help distract myself, take care of other people, and create something, I started baking. I needed to try out a couple new recipes and practice some frosting techniques.

I did two recipes I found on Pinterest. The Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cupcakes I got from HERE.

Before going in the oven

The cake part turned out perfectly, it was not too sweet and was perfectly moist. I did have to bake it for about 25 minutes instead of the  recommended 16 minutes.

Cooling

The frosting was way too sweet but I haven't figured out how to make it not so sweet but maintain the great texture. First time using the large round tip and it didn't turn out exactly like I wanted but better than the last time I practiced.

The middle

The finished project

The next recipe I tried worked out perfectly. I was left with a ton of extra batter so I just threw in 2 Tbsp of Cinnamon and mixed well to combine and baked for 17 minutes at 350 degrees. The original recipe was from this website. I also love the cream cheese frosting from that sight. I tried a different frosting tip and tried doing a ribbon of sorts and did the flat "leaf" tip and turned the cupcake to get the layered look. I know this is probably super simple stuff but I am so incredibly happy with how the decorations and the pictures turned out. 

Since we are currently doing a detox I didn't eat them but I did freeze a couple for us so we can eat them when the challenge is over. I can't wait, 13 days to go!