When you're "iced in," make cupcakes

Today is not what I thought it was going to be. If you would have asked on Sunday afternoon what I'd be doing right now, I'd have said running around like a chicken with my head cut off during my work event that was planned for today. But good 'ole Pax had other plans, which effectively canceled mine, forcing me to postpone the huge event I've been planning since I started my job in August, involving 15 speakers from around the state including the Governor, which had over 200 attendees who'd already registered and paid....to April 24. April flipping 24th. That is an eternity to have this event hanging over my head. I want so badly to be able to cross it off my list and move on. However, given the absolutely terrible conditions we've got here in Columbia today, I'm glad we didn't risk it. Postponing was the right call.

Anyway, I'm enjoying my second winter weather day in as many weeks, working from home with intermittent snow/snack/pup-cuddling breaks. We've gotten about an inch of solid ICE in the last 24 hours, along with another inch of miscellaneous precipitation (so far) that has frozen, providing an igloo-esque situation and a very real threat of power loss. Since the news keeps saying that loss of power is "imminent" and it might be out for a few days, I figured I better jump on my Valentine's Day baking while I still had an oven.

I decided to make cupcakes, since I had some cutsie cupcake liners and festive sprinkles to use. If you want to make cupcakes that aren't technically from scratch, but have that bake shop consistency (and don't crack or balloon up to epic proportions), this recipe is the bomb.

Bakery-Style Cupcakes from a Cake Mix
1 box of cake mix (I used Betty Crocker's SuperMoist Triple Chocolate Fudge)
1 cup of water
1/2 cup of sour cream
1/4 cup vegetable oil
3 eggs
(yields 20-24 cupcakes)
Mix all ingredients together for 30 seconds on low, then 2 minutes on medium. Scoop into lined cupcake tins using an ice cream scoop, filling a bout 3/4 full. Bake at 350 for 18 minutes. Let them cool, and then frost and decorate!

I'm feeling generous on this frigid day, so I'll share my frosting recipe, too. I've been using this recipe for several years now and it's to die for. I get so many compliments on this frosting, and it's embarrassingly easy to make. I will not judge if you eat it with a spoon. Because I have.

Vanilla Cream Cheese Frosting
1 stick (1/2 cup) butter, softened
1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened

2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 package (16 ounces) confectioner's sugar
(yields enough to frost about 20 cupcakes)

Beat butter, cream cheese, and vanilla extract at medium-high speed for 2 minutes, until light and fluffy.  Gradually beat in confectioners' sugar at a low speed. Once mixed in, beat at high for about 2 more minutes until fluffy.

Place the frosting into a plastic bag, snip the tip, and frost!

Ain't they purdy??
Now dig in. Or share with your Valentine.

And just so you know I'm not exaggerating, here's how much winter precipitation has taken place at my house! Sadly, it's 75% ice. And it's still coming down!

xo
KH

Cornice board DIY (or how to make fancy looking window treatments for cheap)

I love the tailored look of cornice boards on a window. It looks so clean and classic. But y'all, I can't bring myself to drop hundreds on a window treatment. I just can't.

When we moved into our house in August, I'd already seen a few tutorials floating around Pinterest on making cornice boards. The study (aka a very tiny room in the front of our house that I think may have been the original bedroom when it was built in the 40's, but wouldn't hold a queen size bed now) was the one room we wanted to paint and make improvements too, as the rest of the house had recently been repainted or updated. I wasn't sure what I wanted to do in that room, but I started with selecting fabric to make window treatments. I fell in love with this cobalt geometrical pattern. And cornice boards seemed like the perfect thing to make with it.

And so it was.

But how in the H was I going to do this?

I happened to have a lot of cardboard lying around from the move. And I thought, "it can't be that hard. Let's do this." (in that Home Depot-commercial tone).

This is what I used, how I did it, and what they look like in my study. They're pretty cute!

You'll need:
Cardboard (ideally about 8 inches longer than the width of your window - or you can tape it together, like I did)
Packing tape
Quilt batting
Hot glue gun
Craft or fabric glue
Fabric
Measuring tape
Scissors

Measure your windows and cut the cardboard accordingly. The height of the board, as well as how far you want it to stick out from the wall, depends on your personal taste!

I wanted mine to come out about 4 inches from the wall, so I made sure I had at least that amount in the total width of the board. For example, if your window is 40" from moulding to moulding and you want it to come out 4", you'll cut your board to 48". Then, you'll crease back so that is has 4" flaps on each side.

My pieces of cardboard were not quite long enough, so I had to take pieces together. I reinforced it with  a small piece of cardboard on the back of it so that there wouldn't be a visible crease.

Next, cut your quilt batting to the size of the front of your cardboard. Don't worry if it's not perfect. Glue it down with hot glue so that it's instantly stuck on there.

Now, you'll wrap your board like a present. If you will be able to see your board from the outside of your house, you'll want to wrap it completely. Be sure not to wrap it too tightly around the "flaps" on the end - you'll want to be sure they still bend back at 90 degree angles.

Then, you'll get out your craft or fabric glue and glue it down (you can see I also used a little bit of packing tape to hold it in place so that I could pull it taut). You might want to put something heavy on top of the creases while it's drying. 

For the corners, I folded them neatly just like you would a package. It makes the outside look prettier and neater, too. 

After your board has dried, hang 'er up! I used 6 small tack/upholstery nails on each side to hang it (nailed directly into the moulding). The board is so light that 6 tiny nails will easily keep it in place.

And voila! Don't tell anyone you did it yourself. They'll ask you to do one for them. 

Just admire your lovely, expensive-looking window treatments. And make them for every room in your house!

I wanna see pics!

Celebrating Advent with a DIY Advent Calendar

[A few days late, but Happy Advent, y'all!]

Last Christmas season, I made up my mind that I was going to make a Pottery Barn-esque Advent Calendar, much like this:

And I spent roughly the first 10 days of Advent trying to find the perfect ornaments to complete the look. So it morphed into more of a 12 days of Christmas calendar.

Anyway - the point is that I finally found the right ornaments and this year, I actually got to start on the actual first day of Advent putting the ornaments on my designated little Advent tree!

Here's the finished product:

My knock-off Advent calendar

and the little tree the ornaments go on!

It's really easy to make, and inexpensive if you're careful not to let the ornaments add up!

You'll need:

• a small/medium cork board (mine is about 2 feet tall)
• burlap
• staple gun
• seamstress pins with pearls on the end
• blank gift tags (found in the paper or card making section at Michaels)
• 24 small ornaments, each different
• Small tree (or you can hang the ornaments on your regular tree!)

Staple the burlap around the cork board (BONUS: you can use the burlap-covered cork board year round for pictures, notes, etc!). Write numbers 1-24 on the blank gift tags. Carefully lay out the tags so that they will be evenly spaced on the board. Attach them loosely with the pins through the holes in the tags. Hang a small ornament on each pin. Proudly display your Advent calendar and remember to put an ornament on the tree each day! 

a monogram baby shower

Ladies, it's no secret that we Southern gals love a monogram. Even my northern and west coast girls like them, too. My sweet friend April is pregnant with her second baby girl, Blakely Anne, due April 1. Because she already has a little girl, she already has everything she needs...so I wanted to make sure she had some things she wanted, too! So last weekend, I threw her a monogram baby shower!

The baby's nursery is being done in shades of pink and aqua, which is such a fun color scheme! I wanted to do the shower in the same colors.

She got so many adorable monogrammed goodies, y'all - like so, sooooo cute. 

The goodies I got for the baby!

I didn't do a ton of food, since it was in the middle of the afternoon, but I did make a new recipe of Chicken Salad that I really liked. The best part? It's a "light" recipe because there's no mayo in it!

Light & Fruity Chicken Salad:

- 1 lb. chicken breast, cooked and shredded

- 1 small red apple, diced

- 1/2 cup green grapes, sliced in half

- 1/4 cup dried cranberries

- 1 tsp. garlic powder

- 1/2 cup of plain Greek Yogurt (or more if desired)

Mix all the ingredients together. Serve with bread or small croissants.
(tip: if you have a stand mixer, use it to shred chicken! Just boil the chicken breasts for about 20 minutes and put in the mixer bowl. Use the regular attachment, mix at slow speed for about 30 seconds, and your chicken is perfectly shredded!)





It was a successful shower full of friends, fun, food, and frilly gifts. I can't wait to meet sweet little Blakely Ann!

My little weekend sewing project!

This weekend, I broke in my new sewing machine and got to work! I have been wanting to make new pillows for our living room for months. I would be lying if I said that throw pillows weren't at least 60% of the reason I begged for a sewing machine in the first place.

We had plenty of throw pillows, most of them from Pottery Barn, all in the coral/yellow/brown families. They all looked so pretty together. But two of them died (I do not recommend the chenille pillow covers from PB - they will not hold up to a dog of any size! Plus, the feathers from the inserts stick through and poke you) and two that I got from Homegoods were on the verge of death. We were left with a few mis-matched pillows, and a few naked feather/down pillow inserts.

I was on the hunt for pretty fabric, when I found these swatches that matched the colors we already had in play:

 

After mulling it over for a few days, I went forth with my purchase (hey, I had to think about it - good fabric ain't cheap, my friend!).

Then I had to get my sewing machine out of the  box and actually thread the sucker. I hadn't touched a sewing machine in years, so I was pretty rusty.

After several hours of measuring, cutting, sewing, and re-sewing a few edges, I was done! Not to toot my own horn, but I even put zippers in them! (toot, toot!) I have never fooled around with putting zippers in anything I've sewn, so I was pretty proud of myself.

 

 I couldn't wait to get them on the couch! I am absolutely loving the way they look in our living room!

In case you're wondering, the solid coral pillow covers are from Pottery Barn and the solid brown covers are from Hobby Lobby. I plan to make several more pillows with the remaining fabric, but I need to purchase more zippers and pillow inserts first!

That was my Saturday project! I feel so accomplished :)

Penny modeling the pillows./ She's a big fan/

Easy-peasy Fall Munch Mix

By now, we all know it's Fall (but in case you haven't seen the memo floating around...IT'S FALL, Y'ALL). Which means that we are well into a season of par-tays, tailgates, leaf-looking roadtrips and snack-fests in which we all attempt to bulk up for our winter hibernation.

I threw together this snack mix last night that makes a great addition for any get-together (or just to have sitting on your kitchen counter if fall/winter bulk-up is your game. No but seriously, it's not that bad for you. All things in moderation). It's a great balance of salty and sweet. Warning: it might become addictive.

Fall Munch Mix

Ingredients:
- 1 cup Honey Nut Chex cereal
- 1 cup Chocolate Chex cereal
- 1 cup tiny-twist pretzels
- 1 cup Goldfish crackers (or Cheeze-Its)
- 1 bag of Autumn Mix candy corn
- 1 bag of Cracker Jacks

Put everything into a gallon size plastic bag. Gently shake it up.
Put in a pretty canister and display, since it will match your fall decor!

You're welcome. 

Enjoy, loves!