before and after - painted wood bench

I actually painted this bench last year, but since I apparently forgot how to blog until this week you haven't gotten to see it until now.

A light sanding, a coat of outdoor primer (I use KILZ brand), and painted (about a coat and a half) with "Satin Black" Rustoleum. (The same stuff I used to paint my fireplace tile).

I just love doing these easy projects that have such a big impact with so little effort! Have you done any of these types of projects lately? Please tell me in the comments!

Quick and Easy! No cook! Strawberry Freezer Jam

Hi all! It's TAX DAY, and for me, that means no more tax work and I have a little more free time. Like maybe time to unpack from Hawaii! And do laundry! And blog! And make QUICK AND EASY STRAWBERRY FREEZER JAM! It's currently 9:00 am and I've already made a double batch AND cleaned the kitchen. (OK, so I haven't showered yet, or gotten dressed, but let's be reasonable, OK?)

We have a new (awesome) market near us called Harbor Greens and yesterday Grace and I were there to get some fruit and they were selling a whole flat (that's EIGHT POUNDS!) of strawberries! for $6! Woohoo! That's a bargain I tell you. (And I KNOW bargains), so I bought a flat knowing I'd make my family's favorite jam with some of it.

And that's just what I did!

What you'll need:
4 cups of crushed strawberries
1 1/2 cups of sugar
1 package of No Cook Freezer Jam pectin (I used Mrs Wages brand this time, but I've also used Ball)

I like to wash and trim the stems off the strawberries, then "pulse" them in my food processor. It's faster than crushing them. And Charlie loves to "help" by pressing the pulse button.

You want to make sure and use the correct amount of fruit in order for the pectin to work properly. If you try and use more fruit the jam doesn't firm up like it's supposed to.

Next you whisk the sugar with the pectin, and then mix in the fruit. Let it sit for three minutes to "rest". (This is a good time to pour yourself another cup of coffee. Or wine, depending on what time of day it is).

Finally, you pour it into your containers (Any clean, freezable, container with a lid will do). And that's it! Let them sit for about 30 minutes. They'll keep about a month in the refrigerator or a year in the freezer. 

It took about a half hour start to finish and I've got a year's worth of homemade jam for under $20 (and that includes new canning jars!)

how to paint an old picnic table

Remember how sometimes I like to pretend I'm a DIY blogger? (Because I am so dang cheap, not because I am so dang crafty). Well we have this old wood picnic table (that we store on the side of our house) that we use maybe once a year when we have a big outdoor barbecue. This year as our annual barbecue approached I decided I didn't want to use this nasty old thing. So, I painted it!

First, I borrowed my aunt's sander and sanded the top of the table and benches. If I was going to be professional I would have sanded the whole thing. But, I'm a slacker, so, you know.

I think this is after I sanded. But I'm also not a professional DIY blogger, so I can't be sure.

Then I hosed it down really good, to get all the yucky dusty stuff off.

Then I started priming. I always use KILZ brand indoor/outdoor primer. Because I bought a gallon a long time ago and it still hasn't run out. I used a small roller for the tops, thinking that would be easier, but I switched to a brush for the rest and I think the brush was just as easy.

The fun part? Picking out paint colors! I wanted a buttery yellow, so I chose Summer Heat (it's an Ace brand color). I bought a quart of semi-gloss exterior latex.

I did one good coat, and very little touch up. I think I may go back and do another full coat later, but it was hot out, and I wanted to be sure it dried well enough in time for our party.

I really love how the color turned out. It's a little more ivory and a little less yellow than I expected. But I like it!

Doesn't it look great with the adirondack chairs I painted last year?

48ish hours later we put it to good use:

OMG mocha brownies

Last night we went to our friends' house for dinner. And their friends had given them some of these little bites of heaven brownies, which we ate for dessert. They were so rich and delicious that I promptly came home and googled the hell out of them, and then made my very own batch today.

I am telling you now...you MUST make these brownies. But do yourself a favor and invite somebody over to eat them with you or you WILL eat the whole pan by yourself and then you will feel oh so very sick.

This recipe is adapted from the Pioneer Woman's Mocha Brownies out of The Pioneer Woman Cooks. The original recipe calls for 4 sticks of butter. I cut it down to a mere 3 sticks. So, you know, these are WAY healthier.

What you'll need for the brownies:
2 sticks (1 cup) of unsalted butter (softened)
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
3 teaspoons vanilla (does anybody actually measure vanilla?)
4 oz unsweetened chocolate, melted
1 1/4 cup flour

 First, beat the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy.

Then add the eggs (one at a time), the vanilla, and the melted chocolate. Mix a little more. Finally add the flour and mix just until combined.

Pour into a buttered 9x13(ish) pan and bake for 40(ish) minutes at 325 degrees. Let cool completely. (Or as long as you can bear to wait).

While your brownies are cooling you'll need to make the mocha frosting. (Please, for the love of God, do not skip the frosting!) I did cut the frosting in HALF, and trust me, there was still plenty of frosting.  I kinda think the entire amount would be gross.

What you'll need for the mocha frosting:
(these are the amounts that I used, which differ from the PW's recipe)
2 cups powdered sugar
1/8 cup cocoa powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
a splash of vanilla
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter (softened)
1/4 cup strong brewed coffee (cooled)

Beat the first five ingredients together until well combined. Then add the coffee in slowly. Beat on medium(ish) speed for a minute or two or three until your frosting is all light, fluffy and delicious.

Spread frosting over cooled brownies, and chill (if you can wait any longer than you already have) to make cutting cleaner.

Seriously though, if these aren't the best damn brownies you've ever eaten in your entire life, well, then I'd like to know what brownies you have been eating. For reals. Also, there is an easy peasy little pin-it button down there just especially for you, because you know you want to pin these babies.

happy valentines' day! *free DIY printable*

Need a last minute gift idea for your valentine? Why not make a printable of the important dates for you and your sweetie? I found this idea on pinterest (obviously), and made it a little less frilly for my own taste.

The first two dates are mine and my valentine's birthdates (yes, we are that old). Next is our anniversary in white. The last four are the birthdates of our babies!

I made mine in Photoshop Elements. Start with a new "blank file" in the size you want to print it at. (Mine is 8x10). Fill the background with the color you like (my gray is "544a4a"). Then you just create a new text layer for each date. The font I used is called Modern No. 20, which I downloaded for free (I think from DaFont?). To add the little heart in the anniversary date I used the "custom shape tool" and selected the (obviously), and red (obviously), then just size it to fit in one of the numbers. Flatten, and print! I always choose to print at Costco because they can print a matte finish in an hour, and because I need instant gratification. I picked up a stock frame, pre-matted at Michael's, and, ta-da...instant "art"!

how to make a simple envelope pillow cover

When we were snowed in the other week I decided to finally get around to finishing a little project a started before Christmas and that was recovering my family room throw pillows. You see they used to be red, but I was going for a blue theme. It's TOTALLY easy to make an envelope pillow case. You don't have to know how to do a button hole, or put in a zipper, or anything else difficult like that. ALL you have to be able to do is sew a semi-straight line. And trust me, if I can do it, you can do it.

Cut your fabric in a rectangle shape. If you are making a cover for a 20" pillow your width should be 20 + 1 (for seam allowance)=21"and your length should be (20x2) + 3 (for your envelope "overlap")=43"

Next take your fabric and fold it over (right side in and overlap the pieces approximately 3 inches. (I didn't not hem the ends of this since it doesn't fray. If your fabric requires it you can finish the two short ends of your rectangle before proceeding).

Pin.

Now sew both sides as shown (this would be your long ends of your rectangle if it weren't folded). I used a 1/2 inch seam allowance on each side. Be sure you leave your overlapping flap open.

Turn right side out and shove your pillow form in through the open flap on the back. (Or be like me and shove your dirty old pillow in there with drool stains and all.



Tada!

I made the blue ones too. : )

Sorry I forgot to straighten this photo. The straightening tool (in LR 3) is seriously my FAVORITE tool ever.

Let me know if you have any questions! Otherwise, go hit up the clearance fabric section and re-cover your pillows! It literally takes 15 minutes. Or less.

How to: Baklava

Baklava

I learned how to make baklava from my grandma Vera when I was little, and she used to make it in old film reel canisters, which is kind of a genius idea, although I'm not sure how sanitary it was. I'm just going to assume that she washed them real good beforehand, ok?, and then not think about it anymore...
Anyway, it's not hard to make baklava, but it is kind of time consuming, so I don't make it very often. I do try and make it about once a year at Christmastime to send some to Chris' Great Aunt Marian. It's really easy to ship since it really doesn't spoil quickly, and actually gets better as it "ages". (I totally made that up, I'm not sure it gets better, but I do know it doesn't get stale like other cookies do). Anyway, I made some again this year and decided to share my recipe with you!

Here's what you need:

Filling:

4 c (1 lb) finely chopped walnuts

1/2 c sugar
1 t cinnamon

I use my food processor on the pulse setting to finely chop the nuts, then add the sugar and cinnamon at the end and pulse a few more times to combine.

1 ¼ c melted butter (that's 1 1/4 CUPS, or 2 1/2 CUBES, so yeah, that New Years Resolution is going to be don't eat so much baklava next year)

16 oz phyllo (this comes frozen, in the frozen dessert section). Working with phyllo is a little bit tricky because it can dry out pretty quickly. Make sure you prepare your other ingredients BEFORE you get your phyllo out, and then lay it on a clean, dry surface. Cover it with a piece of plastic wrap and then lay a damp kitchen towel on top of that...pull the plastic wrap and towel back to grab your phyllo, and then recover while you're spreading your butter (as described below). Here's my phyllo hiding under a damp towel:

Now we're ready to assemble the baklava! Brush the bottom of a 12x17x1 pan (I just used my large sized "cookie" sheet from Costco) with melted butter. Layer about ¼ of your package of phyllo in the pan, brushing between each sheet with butter.  Here you see 2 sheets of phyllo which fit in my pan, if it gets ripped or wrinkled or anything it totally doesn't matter, since each sheet is spread with butter, and there are multiple phyllo sheets for each layer. 

 

Sprinkle 1 ½ c of filling on top. Repeat phyllo layers and filling twice.

Finish with layer of phyllo and drizzle any remaining butter over top. Trim edges to fit pan, and cut into diamond shapes. (Note that you cut BEFORE you cook).

Bake at 325 degrees for 35-45 minutes or until golden.  Cool slightly in pan on rack. 

While your baklava is baking make your syrup:

1 c water
1 1/2 c sugar

¼ c honey

½ t shredded lemon peel
2 T lemon juice
2 inches cinnamon stick

In a saucepan stir together syrup ingredients. Bring to boiling, reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 20 minutes. 

Remove cinnamon sticks and pour syrup over slightly cooled baklava. Cool completely, allowing all that delicious syrup to get soaked up by the baklava.

To ship baklava: I wrapped between layers of waxed paper, tied with a ribbon, and then placed the waxed paper package inside of a ziplock, and the ziplock inside of a small shipping box (between some crumpled up tissue paper).

To store baklava: It lasts at least a week (if you don't eat it all before then) stored at room temperature. I actually leave it in the pan I made it in, which happens to have a lid. If you don't have a lid for your pan I would just cover with foil. If you want to keep it longer than a week or so I would put it in the refrigerator, or even the freezer.

I put these two baklavas on a plate for the sole purpose of photographing them for this blog post.
And then I ate them. Both.

Have you ever made baklava before? Do you think you'll try it now? Do you have anything that you love to make every year?

PS This is my 1,000th post! Are you completely bored of me yet? Wait, don't answer that. ; )