Early this month we finished replacing the kitchen cabinets and this weekend we put up our new backslash! I have always wanted a white subway tile backslash; it always looks so clean and bright. We found the tile at Home Depot for $2.67 each and we purchased 20 sheets (12 by 12). We started by premeasuring the pieces and deciding on how we wanted to lay them out. Once we had enough sheets preplanned and individual tiles cut to size we began tiling. We used a light color mortar with a peanut butter consistency, using a trowel smeared the mortar on the sheet and laid it in place. After a few sheets were mortared Jack started to cut more individual tiles to fit along the edges, around the cabinets and around the plug ins using 1/4 tile spacers to keep the tiles in place. Once the last tile was put in place, we let the mortar dry overnight to not risk moving any tiles. The next day we removed all of the spacers and cleaned out any place where the mortar seeped through. To grout we chose a white sanded one and mixed to a thick consistency and started "frost" on, Jack assigned me this job since I was very familiar with the process and I was done in no time. By the time I finished the end I was able to go back to the beginning section and began cleaning off the grout left on tiles with a damp sponge. This step was the most time consuming since we didn't want to leave any grout on the white tiles or remove too much grout from the seams. The last step was to buff the tiles with cheese cloth to make it shinny and bright. It was well worth a weekend of hard work and cost under $300 to give us a whole new look for our kitchen!
 With my new kitchen cabinets I have been trying hard to keep them and my counter tops organized. For my baking and coffee area I needed to come up with something that would help keep my counter clean. I found these cute wire accessories, but hated that they didn't match, nothing a can of spray paint can't fix! After priming I lightly sprayed with silver to give more of an antique look and let them dry. Now they are a cute addition to my baking/coffee nook and tie in with my cake stand display. Just remember that if you can't find the perfect accessory you can alter it to have a one of a kind piece!
 Today is my little puppy's birthday and I like to spoil her! Everyone deserves a special treat on their birthday and your furbaby should be no exception! These are a great dog approved cupcake perfect for your furry loved one.
Ingredients: 1 cup flour 1 tsp vanilla 1/3 cup honey 1 egg 1 tsp baking soda ¼ cup peanut butter ¼ cup vegetable oil 1 cup Shredded carrots Frosting 12oz Fat-Free cream cheese 2 tsp honey Directions: Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. Mix ingredients together, and then scoop into a cupcake or cake pan. Bake 20-30 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool before frosting. Make the frosting by mixing the ingredients together and pipe onto cupcakes. For fun sprinkles on a few bacon bits! "...Out of the egg came a tiny and very hungry caterpillar". I loved this book when I was little and it was really fun to make a cake of it. Once the cake was covered in fondant, I colored and rolled out some more fondant then cut into different food items he ate in the book make sure to cut a hole in each one. To create the caterpillar I used some food safe wire and rolled balls of different green colored fondant and skewered on the wire. After having enough section I squashed together leaving room on either end of the wire to stick into the cake for support. The number 2 was made with colored gum paste and a Popsicle stick. To complete the cake I piped red buttercream frosting around the rim and this hungry caterpillar was off to a special 2 year old's birthday!  I have had kitchen cabinets in my office for the last several months just waiting to be installed and the time has finally come! The reason I have had cabinets in there for so long was because they were on sale. Whenever we know we are about ready to do another stage of the kitchen we will look for the cabinets while they are on sell and store them either in garage or my office until we are ready. We may only save 25% by doing it this way but that quickly can add up when doing a whole kitchen. This was the final stage in replacing our kitchen cabinets. Over the last 5 years we have removed a wall, added cabinets, replaced a window, added a pantry, moved a refrigerator, replaced the upper cabinets, and now we are replacing the bottom section. We were very worried about damaging the counter top since it was glued and screwed down to the old cabinets. With a little patience and the right tools we were able to remove the countertop without any damage. Since we were reusing the countertop and sink we skipped the step to remove the sink. Once the countertop was removed we quickly took out the old cabinets and removed the remaining backsplash. At this point Jack was a pro on installing cabinets and they were in place in no time. Once they were tacked into place we carefully put back the countertop and sink and secured it in place. Because we planned ahead we had this project completed in only a weekend, now we are ready for the new backsplash!
"Twinkle Twinkle Little Star how I wonder what you are"....isn't this the sweetest gender reveal cake?! One of my regular cake customers asked me to make this sweet cake to help her announce the gender of her baby. Gender reveal parties seem to be the latest thing and they seem to be a lot of fun; I love to be a part of this fun time for the new parents. To create your own gender reveal cake simply color a vanilla cake either with pink or blue then bake. Make sure to frost the cake thick enough to not reveal the color of the cake until you are ready to cut into it. Another option is instead of coloring the cake you can color the buttercream frosting to the decided pink or blue. As for this gender reveal I'm not telling!   These are a quick and easy dessert that is perfect for an Easter Luncheon. Bake your favorite cupcakes and color your buttercream a nice grass green. Once cooled used a grass tip and starting from the center and moving your way out squeeze the piping bag full of frosting and pull up to create the grass look. Place candy eggs in the center. For the perfect display, place in an Easter basket. Hopefully the Easter Bunny doesn't hide these  |