Weekly Wonderings: July 21, 2011

This week has been hectic, between planning out a birthday party for my younger sister and doing school work , I have barely had time to rest. Plus, my mom and I are trying to coupon, not extreme mind you, but so far we have managed to save about 100 dollars every week at the grocery store. This summer, she went from having a household of 2 to 6, so there has been a lot of adjustments as we all adopt to having two youngsters in the house. And 10 year olds never seem to run out of energy.

1. These shoes. I need them. (I wear a size 8.5 if anyone wants to get them for me)
   
   
   
   
    
   2. Inspiration for Aurora's birthday cake. She's turning 10

 3. This is filled under my "When I have time to home make everything pinterest category)

  4. I always wear mine!

  5. My Halloween costume, apparently I can plan this far in advance.

1. 
   
    

What have you been wondering about this week?

King’s Cake

I love King's Cake, the bright colors, the gooey goodness inside and of course the plastic baby. So I set out to make one yesterday and realized why most people buy them instead of making them. They take FOUR hours. You can't get around that, and all the reviews of it said one way to make it easier was to make it in a bread maker; however, I do not have neither the money to buy a bread maker nor the space to put one. I was stuck making it by hand for four hours and once I halfway done, I realized the recipe was for making double. So luckily, my gracious boyfriend was nice enough to take one off my hands. The recipe is very delicious and I highly recommend it, if you have four hours to spare and the patience to knead dough for 10 minutes. Also I made a few changes to the original recipe, I halved it, so you only have to make one cake and I doubled the filling, since mine didn't seem to have enough plus I added some lemon juice to the icing as it was too sweet even for my large sweet tooth.

• PASTRY:
  
• 1/2 cup milk
  
• 1/8 cup butter
  
• 1 (.25 ounce) packages active dry yeast
  
• 1/3 cup warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
  
• 1/4 cup white sugar
  
• 1 eggs
  
• 3/4 teaspoons salt
  
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
  
• 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
  
• 
  
• FILLING:
  
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
  
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
  
• 2/3 cup chopped pecans
  
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
  
• 1/2 cup raisins
  
• 1/2 cup melted butter
  
• 
  
• FROSTING:
  
• 1 cup confectioners' sugar
  
• 2 tablespoons water
  
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
  

Directions *I added notes between the *s in the directions*

1. Scald milk, remove from heat and stir in 1/8 cup of butter.*To scald mean to basically burn, you want it to 185 degrees F or basically until it starts to boil* Allow mixture to cool to room temperature. In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in the warm water with ½ tablespoon of the white sugar. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes. *It will pouf up and bubble*
2. When yeast mixture is bubbling, add the cooled milk mixture. Whisk in the eggs. Stir in the remaining white sugar, salt and nutmeg. Beat the flour into the milk/egg mixture 1 cup at a time. * This will get very hard to mix, you will hurt your arm and you may break a whisk* When the dough has pulled together, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 8 to 10 minutes. *This is a bitch, no getting around it*
3. Lightly oil a large bowl, place the dough in the bowl and turn to coat with oil. Cover with a damp cloth or plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 2 hours. *Yes, really, it will double in size*
   
4. When risen, punch down *This is fun* 
 
5. 
6. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease a cookie sheets or line with parchment paper.
7. 
8. To Make Filling: Combine the brown sugar, ground cinnamon, chopped pecans, 1/2 cup flour and 1/2 cup raisins. Pour 1/2 cup melted butter over the cinnamon mixture and mix until crumbly.
   
9. Roll dough out into large rectangles (approximately 10x16 inches or so). Sprinkle the filling evenly over the dough and roll up each tightly like a jelly roll, beginning at the wide side. Bring the ends of each roll together to form oval shaped rings. Place the ring on a prepared cookie sheet. With scissors make cuts 1/3 of the way through the rings at 1 inch intervals. Let rise in a warm spot until doubled in size, about 45 minutes. *Oh my god, it does double again!* 
10. Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes. *check it at 20 minutes, they tend to bake quickly, and you don't want it as brown as mine*
    
11. Push the doll into the bottom of the cake. Frost while warm with the confectioners' sugar blended with 2 tablespoons of water. *AND LEMON JUICE*
    

1. 
   
   
   Notes-
   
   
   1. This takes a looonnnggg time. It is intensive, you need a large surface to knead the dough and then again to roll it out and put the filling on it.
      
   2. You need more flour. You have to flour everything, the rolling pin, the surfaces, and the dough. So make sure you have an extra 2 cups of flour
      
   3. Kneading is difficult work.
      
   4. It will rise to double its size, make sure your bowl can handle it. Mine couldn't.
      
   5. The icing may need more lemon juice/ water. And you make actually want to make a second batch to drizzle over each slice. 
    
   
   Follow my blog with bloglovin
    

Weekly Wanted Wonders

Sadly, I have started to put away the Valentine's décor and find storage for my heart plates. Actually, that's a lie. The décor is still there, I just can't make myself put it all away, I am afraid my living room will look too bare. So until I find something new to decorate with, those silly little hearts are staying up. Maybe there are Mardi Gras decorations?

1. Balls of light 
   
    

   

   From Do It Yourself (Better Homes and Gardens) Spring 2011

    I really like this idea for a lamp and though my tiny apartment would be overwhelmed by such a piece, I think three small ones could look cute above my breakfast nook. Perhaps this will be another weekend project for me.
2. TV Table
   
   
   I got this table for $9.99 on the clearance aisle at bed, bath and beyond. While it may not be that pretty now with a little bit of love and a lot of modpodge, I think this could be a great extra table, I am always in need of another table by my couch.
   
3. Kings Cake
   
   
   
   With only two weeks until Mardi Gras, I have got to make a king's cake soon! I made one last year, and though you have to wait for it to rise twice, I simply love the cake and having people over to see who gets the baby (I never do, yet I keep baking the cake every year, UGH).
   
   
4. Finding a home for my Glitter Candles
   
   
   
   I finally found somewhere to put my candles and I simply love how they add a bit of sparkle to the walls. Plus the stands ensure that any errant glitter is caught.
   
   
5. Artichokes
   
   

   
   As I was wondering down the grocery store yesterday, they were having a sale on artichokes. I couldn't resist buying two of them. Now I am on a great adventure to find out how to use them besides spinach and artichoke dip. Here goes nothing…
   
   
   
   What's inspiring you this week?

Weekly Wanted Wonders

     This week is all Valentines for me, hearts and pinks galore. Perhaps, it's because I am not celebrating Valentine's Day until Friday. Oh well, you can deal, right?

1. Dinner on my heart plates.
   
   They inspire me to break out my cookie cutters more.
2. High Gloss.
   
   

   

    This magazine looks so cool, now do they make a semi-gloss one for those without unlimited budgets?
   
   Glittered Candles.
   

   

   Because everything looks better in candlelight and with sparkles
3. Whimsy Clock.
   
   Time telling would never be so much fun!
4. Beautiful quill and aubergine ink.
   
   

   

    From my mom for Valentine's Day, now if only my attempts at calligraphy were better.
5. 
   
   
   
   
   What's inspiring you this week?

Weekly Wanted Wonders

     With Valentine's Day right around the corner, and my mother coming in town this weekend, I have been on a cleaning spurt trying to make everything look sparkly clean especially after the Crafternoon party, I keep finding glitter everywhere. Then again, who doesn't love a little sparkle to their step? This week, I can't get enough of:

1. Valentine's decorations
    
   
   
    I love the kitschy look of them; they just add such fun to my living room.
   
   
    
2. Heart Shaped Plates
   
   
   
     Made from plastic and sparkly, these are perfect for serving dessert or a whole meal on for a nice dinner during February. Plus they are from Target and only about 2 dollars each!
   
   
    
3. Beautiful Tray
   
   
   
     I picked up this tray at Goodwill the other day for under 5 dollars, and while it's pretty, I think I could clean it up a bit and make it really shine. Any ideas are welcome, please!
   
   
    
4. Lisa's Closet from the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills
   
   
   
     I adore Lisa and her house is to die for, just look at how pretty and organized her closet is! If only I had that kind of time/money/skill to get my closets to look like that.
   
   
    
5. Coaster
    
   
    Aren't these too funny? They add such whimsical humor to the chore of asking people to use coasters.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   What's inspiring you this week?
   

Weekly Wanted Wonders

     As many of you may already know, next Monday is St. Valentine's Day, unless you are my boyfriend (It's February 14^th, dear). It seems that so many of my friends and family members have birthdays around that time, making the holiday extra important. These are the things inspiring me this week.

1. Pear-Raspberry Heart Pie
   
   

    

   Heart Pie

    It almost looks to pretty to eat. ALMOST. I love the heart cut outs for the pie crust. Maybe this will be a weekend project…
   
   
2. Florist Measuring Cups
   
   
    
   Measuring Cups
   I wish I had something to bake deserving enough of these cups! I feel I would just place them on a shelf and never want to get them messy, which isn't really the point of them.
   
   
   
3. Marchesa Gown
   
   

   
   I know this has nothing to do really with décor, but I so want this dress and somewhere to where it. Any ideas on how I could possibly justify it?
   
   
   
4. Damask Flocked Wall Paper
   
   

    

   wallpaper
   I don't really know where I would put this, but I know it would be beautiful. I love the soft purple offsetting the more modern foil behind it, making it more whimsical than stuffy.
   
   
   
5. Heart Shaped Valentine's Bejeweled Box
   
   

    

   Bejeweled Heart

    My boyfriend wouldn't appreciate it, so I might have to end up making this for my best friend and giving her a bunch of homemade goodies to fill it with à la Martha!
   
    
   
   What's inspiring you this week?