Sunday, December 19, 2010

Best Pumpkin Cheesecake EVER!!!

I love pumpkin pie and I love cheesecake, so what could be better than putting them both together? I was so excited when I found this recipe for pumpkin cheesecake. It is truly delicious. In fact, it is so wonderful that my husband (who won't eat pumpkin pie) is thoroughly enjoying this pie.

Here is the recipe:

Crust:
2 cups of finely crushed pecan shortbread cookies (Pecan Sandies)
1 tablespoon of all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons of melted butter

Filling:
12 ounces of softened cream cheese
1 cup of sugar
1 can (15 ounces) solid-pack pumpkin
3 tablespoons of all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon of milk (I use soy milk)
1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon each of ground ginger, nutmeg, and cloves
3 eggs, lightly beaten


Here we go...

First you have to make the pie crust. I, sadly, purchased my pie crust this time because I was making three pies and I wanted to speed up the process. Thank you pies of course for our neighbors and my husbands friend who worked so hard on our new floor. Here is what you need to do to make the actual pie crusts. In a bowl, mix butter, flour, and cookie crumbs. Push the mixture into a pie plate. Bake at 350 degrees for 8 - 11 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool on a wire rack.

For the filling, let's start with an amazing mixer!


Next, you will need to add the cream cheese and sugar and beat until smooth. 


Now, beat in the pumpkin, flour, milk, and spices. Next, you need to add the eggs and beat on low speed until just combined and then pour into the crust.






Now, bake at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes or until the center of the pie looks almost set.


When the pie is finished cooking cool on a wire rack for about 1 hour and then place in the refidgerater for 4 hours.


Then enjoy! 

Saturday, December 18, 2010

Oh Christmas Tree! Oh Christmas Tree!

Wow, do I ever feel behind on posts! Things have been so crazy busy lately I feel like I am just now able to stop and take a breath. There have been quite a few changes around this happy home and I can't wait to get them to you! Lets start with our new Christmas Tree!!!

We decided this year we were going to get a regular size tree, sadly the one I used in college just wasn't cutting it anymore. So, we set out for Lowes and purchased a beautiful full sized blue/green tree. I love it! I also decided to work a little diy into this years tree. I have been noticing tons of  projects using book pages lately and I thought of the perfect way to incorporate it onto our tree.

Take a look:


Here is my mini tutorial on how to create the book page tree garland:




Once the chain was all put together I was so happy!!! I had almost given up at least twice. It is a very long chain! Here are a couple more picture taken by my photographer husband. :)




I hope you are having a wonderful holiday season!
Be Back Soon!

Linked to: The Lettered Cottage Favorite Tutorials
P.S. Please check out the awesome link party at Cottage and Vine
 

Friday, November 26, 2010

Dear Santa,

Here is what you might find on my Christmas list...

First up are the Matine Toile Quilt & Sham from Pottery Barn in Dark Porcelain Blue. I have been eying this bedding for a few months now, and I think it will go perfectly with the plan I have for our master bedroom! The bedroom will definitely be a all process, but I am excited to get the yucky tan paint off of the walls and give the room an actual style. I have seen this bedding used a lot in other bedrooms and it always looks fabulous! Here is a picture of the beauty:




Here is what it looked like in The Lettered Cottage:





In the future, I hope to paint the walls similar to the picture below. I have had it saved on my computer for awhile now and I just love the way that it looks. I don't know where I saved it from. If it is yours or you know the source please let me know so that I can add a link.


It will definitely be a ton of work, but I feel up to it. Let's just hope that Tommy is...lol.

The second item on my list is a black digital watch. I know this sounds strange, but I have been looking for one for awhile now. Black is perfect because it won't get dirty looking at work (where I sometime have to get my hands dirty) and digital is perfect because I can glance at it quickly and see the time (I am always in a rush at work). I can always find black but the digital part is more difficult to find in an attractive non-sporty watch. Here is what I found:


As for clothing, I have been trying really hard to make sure I only buy items that my closet is missing. When I go into my closet in the morning and think... hmm... I can't wear that skirt until I get a yellow cardigan to go with it. This way I am adding outfits and only buying one item. This is a change from my previous philosophy which was: buy whatever you like and worry about if you have anything to wear with it later.With this said here are the items missing from my closet:

Here are some things my closet is missing:
 


Express: LONG-SLEEVE V-NECK CARDIGAN 

Here I am wearing it:



Here I am wearing them:

Sunday, November 14, 2010

Finished Buffet!!!

Wow, it has been a few weeks, but the buffet is now finished! It was definitely a ton of work and slightly overwhelming, because it was that first time I have ever attempted painting furniture. It was totally worth it in the end. I love the buffet!!! It turned out exactly how we wanted it to look, and it adds tons of storage to our kitchen area.

First, lets begin with the knobs. After scouring the town (twice lol) we landed on some black metal knobs from Home Depot. They were exactly what I wanted, or so I thought, but after getting them home and thinking things over, I realized I had my heart set on crystal knobs. They are just more me. :) So, we ended up making an emergency stop at Target (don't you just LOVE those) where I had previously seen these gems below:


These knobs are four for $14.99 and I LOVE THEM. Now for the before and after pictures of the finished buffet!

Before:
Here she is in all her dirty glory:


After:
Here she is now:


Our wonderful neighbors came over yesterday to help Tommy move our new TV stand inside (more on this in my next post) and they couldn't even believe it was the same piece of furniture. They were amazed! Our neighbors, of course, helped Tommy move this buffet inside as-well.

The Process:
I was incredibly blessed to have my amazing Mom here to help us paint this buffet, otherwise we would have both been lost, (and crazy). We started by going to Home Depot and getting our 120 sandpaper, oil based primer, tarp, foam mini rollers, and Martha Stewart Living Paint in Glass of Milk. I think now I would have gotten a rougher sandpaper because the finish was so glossy we really had to work hard to get it sanded down. I also think I need to invest in a mini paint brush instead of using those disposable foam tip things. They don't hold up real well. We started by giving her a good wipe down followed by sanding her down so that the surface felt rough. Then another wipe down. The next morning, we started the painting process with one coat of primer:


Once she was completely primed and dry we started the painting process: We ended up doing one coat of a high gloss paint and no polyurethane, which I don't know if I will do again. The gloss made the paint very temperamental and difficult to perfect with a brush, and I am definitely a perfectionist!




We found that setting the door fronts on top of paint cans made the perfect painting holders. I am super happy with the outcome and I can't wait to tackle more furniture re-dos! Here are a couple more after pictures. Check out our cookbooks and cooking magazines new home!








Isn't she gorgeous!!!

Sharing with Southern Hospitality:


Sunday, October 24, 2010

Knobs for the Buffet???

Hmm, I am now having a difficult time deciding on the perfect knobs for our wonderful "new to us" buffet. These are the ones that I am considering:

But first here is what the current knobs look like:



They are a little to gold/brass for me. This little love is a key hole knob from Anthropologie. I think that the width of it might just be perfect for the buffet. It would definitely be a classic choice.



This Ripe Melon Pull would fit perfectly, but is still a shade of brass. What do you think?



This Rosy Knob comes in four colors, but I think I like either the blue or white one. I am not sure how this one would fit or match because there is no metal on it. Oh, but how I love it.





I absolutely love the color of this Urchin Test Knob. It is just beautiful, but I am not sure how it would look with ivory paint.



Now that I am thinking about the ivory color maybe something slightly more like this Bauble Knob. This one seriously makes my heart jump. :)



Or, how about this Glass Melon Knob. I love that it has a bit of metal in with all of that wonderful pink color.



Alright let me know if you have a preference. I am going to be busy thinking about it for the next couple of days. I have to order them soon so that they can be here for next week!!!