The Big Reveal

This post is about a week late, but I want to record our amazing Gender Reveal cake. I found something like it on Pinterest, but our local bakery did a much better job, and it was definitely one of the best cakes I've ever tasted. I was so worried about all other aspects of the party that it never occurred to me to photograph the table where it was sitting on, so that's a bummer, but the gist of it was: "He"-colored Hershey bars on the left, "She"-colored Hershey bars on the right, and when it came down to cake cutting, everyone picked up their guess for a picture! That was simple and straightforward, so here's the picture!

Although most of my "Old Wives Tales" symptoms were skewed towards it being a girl, the great majority guessed it was a boy, and they were right! I was so happy that I could finally make the change from "it" to "he" when talking about my baby, and that I no longer had to be careful when talking about gender-specific subjects. You are very lovingly awaited, Emmett Beckham! 

Easy Peach Cobbler

My parents came and visited a few days ago, and along with the usual gifts that consist mostly of Mexican candy, they brought me a bag with a few extremely ripe peaches in it. They have about 3 or 4 peach trees in their back yard (along with many other fruit trees) and they always bring me some of whatever is in season. This time it was peaches, which by the looks of them had been laying on their counter for several days after being picked, because they were so ripe.
I thought I really wasn't going to eat them since too-ripe fruits gross me out a little, but I didn't want to be wasteful, so I made them into a peach cobbler instead. (Thanks, Pinterest.)
Here's what I used:
Filling: 

• 10 small peaches, peeled and sliced (about 2.5 cups)
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon of ground cinnamon
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 1/3 cup white sugar

Crust:

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 cup milk
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup melted butter (1 stick)

Very ripe peaches, thanks mom.

Directions: 

1. Pour melted butter into 9 X 13 baking dish
2. Mix all dry ingredients for crust , then add milk and stir until it is well blended
3. Pour crust mixture on top of butter, and do not mix 
   
4. In a saucepan, combine all filling ingredients and bring to a boil, stirring constantly
   
5. Pour peach mixture on top of crust mixture, but do not mix together (leave layered)
   
6. Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 45 minutes, or until crust is golden brown
   
7. Suggestion: serve with vanilla ice cream

I know these images aren't so great... I kinda suck at taking pictures, especially when I'm trying not to get my phone smeared with sticky cooking stuff, but the end result was deliciously gooey, just like it should be. This was by far the easiest "from scratch" dessert I have made in a very long time. Yum!

Things I Want To Make

A list of things I've always wanted to do, but never have attempted.

A list of things I will attempt to make in 2015. That's better.

1. String Art 
   
2. Lace jeans patch 
   
3. Bubble Quilt 
   
4. Paint Chip Art 
   
5. Origami Bookmarks 
   
    
6. No Sew Dog Bed 
   

So I'm hoping that by constantly looking at all these to-dos I'll finally be motivated enough to get them done. I had a goal to make a "big deal" craft or DIY every month of 2015, but so far I have about 3 unfinished projects laying around the house in varying states of distress because they aren't getting any attention. Come on Damaris, do something productive. 

Angry Birds Live

ANGRY BIRDS LIVE!

I volunteered for last nights YSA FHE lesson and activity, and decided to take an idea out of my Pinterest boards and make my very own Angry Birds Live game. It was a lot more successful than I thought it would be, thanks to the help and good attitudes of everyone who participated.

Here's what I used:

• 6 small, 6 medium, and 6 large moving boxes (Lowe's)
• I went overboard here, we really didn't need that many, but they survived the night in almost perfect condition and since apartment living isn't gonna be my thing forever... I know I'll use them within a year. 
• several green balloons
• 8 small plastic balls (Walmart... although if I had done Dollar Tree they would have been cheaper)
• 6 boxes of cereal
• These weren't really necessary, but I had so much cereal from couponing that I thought they would make a nice addition
• wrapping paper 
• 2 "soldier helmets" I found at Dollar Tree
• exercise Stretch Bands
• I was aiming for a big water balloon launcher, but no store I went to had them. I had almost given up on my Angry Birds idea when I passed by these at Walmart and inspiration hit. 

all ready to go!

I wrapped up the cereal to use as "bricks"

one of our set-ups

Some piggies had helmets

Pretty unflattering... not the best photographers lol

This was a pretty fun activity overall. I did go overboard with all the materials I purchased, so if you want to give it a try, I suggest using about half of what I did and you should be ok. 

New and Improved Coupon Binder

I've been planning to revise my old coupon binder into something more Me-friendly. I made the old one before I ever started seriously couponing and I soon found out that some things just didn't work for me. It was very well thought out, but since I was unfamiliar with the amount/extent of coupons out there, some sections (tabs) ended up not being used, while others tripled the initial amount of coupon-holder sheets in them. For reference, here are my old tabs/sections.

1. Paper and Plastic
2. Health and Hygiene (this section almost quadrupled)
3. Cleaners and Aromatics
4. Fresh Foods (there's like... no coupons for fresh food... ever) (ok maybe there is, but I never see any)
5. Pantry Items
6. Fridge and Freezer
7. Office and Crafts
8. Home and Misc.
9. Eating Out
10. Clothing (I don't think this was ever used, all the sheets in there look crisp and wrinkle-free)
11. Just for Fun
12. Shopping Lists

Now that I've made couponing my favorite hobby/lifestyle, I know what sections really need some extra space and which ones I can either condense or omit entirely. I also added a section to hold store-specific coupons. My 2 favorite stores allow "coupon stacks" (you can use one store coupon with a manufacturer coupon on the same item) and so I like to stick both into one pocket so they don't get separated. Having a section for each of these stores will make it much easier for me to find the coupons that I plan to use at that store and not use them at another one accidentally. Here's my Revised Coupon Binder Tabs

Cover Page with Contact Info (in case I loose it)

1. Store-Specific (Target, CVS, Walgreens, Other)
2. Paper and Plastic
3. Health and Hygiene (Women)
4. Health and Hygiene (Men)
5. Beauty
6. Razors 
7. Cleaners & Aromatics
8. Pantry Items
9. Fridge & Freezer
10. Pets (with a dog like mine, I need coupons)
11. Baby (don't need this one quite yet... but I will sometime)
12. Going Out
13. Office/Crafts/Misc.

This is now organized from most to least used sections, and they should all more or less have an equal amount of coupons in them. The biggest help with definitely be making sections for certain stores. Feel free to take my idea and make it your own!
BTW, I took the time to Clip-Art the title pages into very nice, colorful ones... but then I decided to "go green" (or be colored-ink-stingy, whatever you want to call it) and print them in B&W instead. Does anybody else think the Target dog looks adorable? 

 I used binder clips to hold the shopping lists I'd printed out a long time ago, but never used. It seemed like a big waste to throw them away, so I'll keep them just in case I get tired of using scratch paper to plan my coupon trips. The binder clips are also very helpful with holding inserts and full pages of printout coupons that I haven't gotten around to clipping yet.

Also, in case you really want to jump into couponing right away, click on the banner below to go to the coupons.com website and set your printer to work! 

Kit Kats Cake

Today is my hubby's birthday and since Mondays are lame and not the greatest for celebrating, we decided to do fun stuff the whole weekend instead. On Sunday we had friends and family over for birthday cake and I finally got to try my hand at the famous Kit Kat Cake which Tabby introduced me to a couple of years ago.

Ingredients: 
1 box of vanilla cake mix
1 box of chocolate cake mix
Chocolate frosting
M&M's
9 Kit Kats (Yes, you read correctly. NINE.)

I decided to make a marbled cake because it turns out there IS such a thing as too much chocolate, but a plain vanilla cake wouldn't go well with the chocolate frosting (personal opinion). Here's how I did it:

1. Prepare bot mixes following the directions on the box. 

2. Using two 9-inch cake pans, scoop alternating layers of chocolate and vanilla mixes; do not swirl. All you need to do is drop about half a cup of batter at a time right in the center, and gravity will take care of the rest. The circles DO NOT have to be perfect, as you can see. 

3. Bake following the instructions on the box. When they are done, chill in the freezer for an hour or two, stacked if possible. 

4. After the cakes have been chilled, it's time to frost it. Pay close attention to the sides, as this icing will be your "glue" for the Kit Kats. 

5. Break off all your Kit Kats before starting. I used the first knife handy, which happened to be a cheese knife. It actually did a good job on chocolate. 

6. Start gluing your Kit Kats all around the cake. I wanted to experiment with a Kit Kat/ M&M mixture on the sides, but burned my fingers pretty badly earlier in the day and decided to stick with the simpler plan. 

7. Add the M&M's! Most people sprinkle them all over the top, but I decided to be difficult/artsy and make a rainbow pattern instead. Since I had pre-sorted the M&M's a day before, this didn't take longer than 10 minutes or so. 

There was sooo much chocolaty stuff going on with this cake, and by the end only this piece remained. Here's to show you how the marbling comes out in the middle. 

This was a pretty fun cake to make, but quite a bit more expensive than your average one. I spent about $25 total because of all the extra chocolate, but everyone loved it and the sugar high was totally worth it. So what do you think?

Puppy Chow for Christmas

A while ago Loni introduced me to the yumminess that is Puppy Chow (otherwise known as Muddy Buddies) and told me about gifting them in mason jars or cello bags. Of course, I had to give it a try, so after fighting my way through Hobby Lobby crowds, I came home with the following:

• Mason Jars
• Cello Bags
• Cupcake liners
• "Homemade" Stickers
• Christmas ribbon

I used the cupcake liners in order to add some color to the jars. They fit very nicely. 

I centered this sticker on top of the jars just to give it a little extra color. And because I thought they were pretty. 

Placed it inside the cello bag. Hobby Lobby had a pack of these for about .50 cents. 

Last was my least favorite part.... tying the ribbon. My mom once told me that if I tied them upside-down they came out rightside-up. That makes no sense to me, but it worked. 

This was the result, I'm quite proud of them. It took me longer to tie the last bow than it did to tie the first one... Ribbon is NOT my thing. I hope people like these :)