Bed Upgrade: Lillesand

When Jess and I were living in Seattle, we bought a king sized mattress and sleigh bed to replace our old mattress which sat ("crack den style") on the floor of our bedroom.  The sleigh bed was gorgeous and felt so adult until we moved it to Brooklyn, and it barely fit in our bedroom.  We would both have to squeeze to get in and out of it every night and by the time we moved here, we knew it was time for a change.  Even in our somewhat spacious master bedroom, the bed was just taking up too much space.  Check out this picture I took a while ago...

So recently, after seeing it on Apartment Therapy and Maillardville Manor, I trekked to the closest Ikea in my mother in law's pickup truck and bought a Lillesand bed for us.  (Please note that after "the crying incident" in an Ikea in Seattle, Jesse refuses to go to Ikea with me.)

The Lillesand is a STEAL ($249 for the King) and was super easy to put together.  I am in LOVE!  Swapping out the heavy wooden sleigh bed for the iron one made a big difference in our room - we already had so many wood elements (the window and door trim, our nightstands, the fireplace, our new desk) and so switching up the beds makes the room feel fresher and lighter.  LOVE.

We are in the market for big pillows to rest up against the headboard for reading.  For now, regular bed pillows do the trick just fine.

And, best of all, we can actually see the fireplace in our room from bed now (with the sleigh bed's thick footboard, you couldn't see it at all).  Tis the season for fires in the fireplace.  Next step... digging out my favorite flannel sheets!

You stay homey... I'll stay in bed!

Zero Guilt Cookie Dough Dip

Hold onto your hats because things are about to get crazy up in here.  Very low fat, dairy free, gluten free cookie dough??  WHAT.  Yup.  That's right.  And it actually tastes frickin' delicious.  Even the husband had no clue it was healthy.  

So I've been on a health kick lately.  Well, not really.  I still have my weaknesses (i.e. wine, cheese, and bread) but I've been trying to make an effort to provide a few more lighter recipes for our readers.  I'm not a baker.  Like SO not a baker.  However, I do love me some cookie dough.  I came across this recipe and decided I had to make it.  Mostly because I refused to believe it would taste good.  Well guess what?

My mind.  Blown.

Husbands mind.  Blown.

This is DELICIOUS.  And you are going to be totally shocked when you find out what it's made with.  Ready for it...

... cannelloni beans.

Still reading?  Ok.  Here is the recipe.  I modified it because, well, that's what I do.   Try it.  I DARE YOU!

1 Can of Cannelloni Beans (1-1/2 Cups, drained, rinsed) 

1/2 a package of low sugar Quaker Instant Oatmeal, Maple Brown Sugar 

(plain instant oats work too)

2 Teaspoons of Vanilla Extract 

2-3 Tbs of Unsweetened Vanilla Almond milk

2-3 Pinches of Sea or Kosher Salt 

2-3 Tbs of Brown Sugar

1/4 Cup of Peanut Butter 

1/8 Teaspoon of Baking Powder 

1/4 Cup of Chocolate Chips, plus more for topping 

Mix all of the ingredients together except chocolate chips in a food processor.  Add a little milk at a time until you reach the right consistency, smooth and thick like cookie dough.  Stir in chocolate chips and add more as a garnish.

You can use any milk you want, but if you want it fat free, use skim milk.  If you want it dairy free, use almond milk.  I love almond milk so that's what I used.  Serve it with chocolate covered pretzels or honey wheat pretzels (my favorite).

Stay hungry!!

No Bake Peanut Butter Bars

My friend Meatball has a recipe for peanut butter bars that are EXACTLY like the ones they served in the Bates dining commons.  Meatball has made them for events before, but I'd never attempted them on my own.  Turns out they are super easy and don't even involve baking!

I went to a party last weekend and needed to bring a dessert.  Since I was short on time (and short on ingredients in our pantry), I decided to give these bars a shot.  They were simple to make and SO tasty.

Now, for the five most delicious ingredients around:

3 cups powdered sugar
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1 cup unsalted butter, melted
1 cup creamy peanut butter
12 oz chocolate chips, melted

You can buy pre-crushed graham cracker crumbs, but at Meatball's suggestion, I just crushed up full graham crackers in a plastic bag.  An in-progress shot...

Combine your peanut butter, graham cracker crumbs, melted butter, and sugar, then press into a 9 x 13 inch baking pan.  Pop into the fridge while you work on melting the chocolate chips...

Once you have melted the chocolate, smooth it over the top of the peanut butter mixture and put back into the fridge for at least half an hour, then cut into serving squares (Meatball suggests cutting into squares before 30 minutes is up, or it'll get too hard to cut easily).

Give these a shot!  You won't regret it!  Stay hungry...

The Difference Between Baking Soda and Baking Powder

What in the world is the difference between baking soda and baking powder?  Great question.  So great, that I did not know the answer until now. 

A few weeks ago my friend Lauren and I were having dinner.  What's the difference between baking soda and baking powder she asked her food blogging friend.  I have absolutely no idea, I said.  If I had just asked you to name every salt one can cook with, you'd know the answer immediately.

She had a point.  I don't bake.  So, I had a thought:  If I didn't know the difference, I bet a lot of our readers don't either.  Well here we go.



Baking soda is used in baking to help stuff rise and fluff.  When the baking soda reacts with an acid (i.e. cream of tartar, lemon juice, yogurt, buttermilk, vinegar, etc.) carbon dioxide is released.  Think of a pancake or a cake.  All of those little bubbles that form that make them fluffy is from the carbon dioxide - a product of the baking soda and acid. 

Now, baking powder is baking soda with an acid (i.e. cream of tartar) added to it.  So if there is already an acid in the recipe (buttermilk, lemon, citrus, etc.), then the additional acid in baking powder will remain unconsumed in the chemical process - leaving an unpleasant taste.  Thus, baking powder is most often used with a more neutral ingredient, such as milk.

Why do some recipes call for both?  That's a good question.  When both ingredients are present, the baking powder does more of the leavening and the baking soda neutralizes any additional, unwanted acidic taste.

What if you need a substitution? 

Your recipe calls for 1 tsp of baking powder, but you don't have baking powder.  Don't fret.  Use 1/4 teaspoon baking soda, 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar plus 1/4 teaspoon of cornstarch. 

Your recipe calls for 1 tsp of baking soda, but you only have baking powder.  This isn't ideal, but will do.  Triple the amount of baking powder - so use 3 tsps of baking powder instead.  This will add additional acidity, but if you're desperate, it'll work.

Alright peeps - that's all I got.  Demystifying the crazy world of baking.  I'm exhausted.

Sharpie Mug: FAIL

I've been seeing this project pop up all over Pinterest - draw on a white ceramic mug with Sharpie, bake in the oven for half an hour, drink smugly out of your newly decorated mug.  Though I generally prefer going to a Paint Your Own Pottery type place, I decided to try this project when decorating a mug as a gift for my brother.

I started with a white mug from Target and Sharpie markers...

I drew on a bike...

...baked in the oven at 350 degrees for 30 minutes, then took it out and let it cool overnight.  Everything looked good!  I tried smudging it with my finger and the Sharpie stayed put.  But I figured I should try washing it before I gave it as a gift and just gentle one swipe of the sponge resulted in this:

Bummer!  Maybe using a different type of mug would work (though this seems to be the EXACT mug featured in the most popular tutorial on Pinterest.  From here on out, I will be sticking to painting ceramics at a studio instead of Sharpie-ing them at home.  Anybody else try something like this?  Let me know and stay homey!

Hola Hovito

Please excuse the delay while I recover from last night's Jay-Z concert... I'll be back later today with an irritating craft fail (perhaps you've been wanting to try it on Pinterest?). 

As for the concert, I got to attend with my childhood BFF in my company's suite at the new Barclay's Center.  The suites were unreal, the food was great, and it was amazing to be in an arena with people who rep Brooklyn even harder than I do.  I must also say that the Barclay's staff was GREAT - so friendly and helpful, even though there was an insane crowd there.  See you in a few hours... stay homie.

Happy 1st Anniversary, Charlie!

Today is Charlie's and my one year anniversary.  It's so hard to believe that one year ago today we were saying I do. I think back very fondly on our wedding day.  It was filled with so many overwhelming memories of love and family.   

My favorite part of the entire day was the ceremony.  We walked into the church as two individuals, and left as a family.  Here are some of my favorite pictures from that part of the day:

I love how nervous Charlie looks in this photo.  The only time I've seen this look on his face (as he's breathing in and out) is the moment he proposed and right here. 

I was so excited when I got to see his beaming face at the end of the long, long aisle. 

I think this photo is so funny.  I love how we're both smiling, but that Charlie is looking at me.  We both look like we're up to something.

Just before saying I do...

Yes!! The moment I've been waiting for...

...it's official.  Mr. & Mrs.

...and a little bubbly to celebrate.

Oddly enough, our wedding day wasn't the best day I've ever had.  It's been every day since I became my husband's wife.  Every day gets better and better.  Every day is filled with laughter, craziness, laughter at my craziness, and just pure bliss and contentment.  I'm one of the few lucky people that got to marry their best friend.  To many, many more Charlie.  Stay happy!