Blonde Brownies

 

I wanted to make a little something sweet for our POPs in the Park outing this weekend.  And of course it’s last minute so I have to find a recipe that I have all the ingredients in house for.  So my go to source for yummy easy desserts is Paula Deen’s Lady & Son’s Cookbook

There are so many good recipes in this cookbook!!  I will name just a few in case you already have it and would like some recommendations to try:  Mini Onion Quiches, Broccoli Salad, Zucchini & Corn Casserole, Sweet Potato Bake, Tomato Pie, Pineapple Casserole, Gooey Butter Cakes, Butter Cookies, and the list could go on. 

Let’s move on to a new recipe I tried this weekend.  “Aunt Glennis’ Blonde Brownies.” These were super easy and contained items you’ll most likely keep in your pantry.

You start by beating the eggs and butter together.  Add the brown sugar.  Gradually add flour and mix well. 

 

Then fold in the nuts, coconut and chocolate chips.

Bake for 25-30 minutes.  Cool and cut in squares.

And enjoy!  Yum!  If you try ‘em let me know what you think!!

Aunt Glennis’ Blonde Brownies –

From Paula Deen’s Lady & Son’s Savannah Country Cooking

3 eggs	2 cups chopped nuts
8 T butter (1 stick)	1 cup shredded coconut(optional)
One 16 oz box Brown Sugar	6 oz semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 cups self-rising flour
1 T vanilla

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Beat eggs and butter together, add sugar.  Gradually add flour; mix well.  Stir in vanilla.  Fold in nuts, coconuts, and chocolate chips.  Bake in greased and floured 13 x 9 inch sheet pan for 25 to 30 minutes.  Cool and cut in squares.

Thinking outside the curtain

Do you remember the inspiration for this bathroom re-do from Centsational Girl? Here’s a little refresher on that

So I knew I wanted to do orange, blue and tan. But which color where – how to combine them? So I said to myself…

“Orange on the walls? No that’s a little much. Maybe blue on the walls? No you’ve already got 3 different blue rooms as it is. Then tan? Really?? Why not. What’s wrong with tan? Well nothings wrong with tan but it’s just tan. Fine, tan it is.”

So now on to how to get the orange and blue in the room. I felt that the orange would give the biggest punch for the shower curtain and I really wanted a nice dramatic pattern. And the one big challenge with this – I wanted it at least 80” long. So finding a pre-made shower curtain was going to be near impossible. So option A) find fabric and make my own or B) find something else that could be used for shower curtain. I went with Option B.

A duvet – I loved the Moroccan -esque pattern and for $44.00 (@ lnt.com) I was sold! So when the duvet came in it worked out great that the button holes for the duvet were on the orange side which worked out perfect for the shower curtain rings! So I separated the orange side from the white and hemmed the edges and voila! We’ve got a shower curtain!

So now that we have our orange we needed to bring in the blue.

Some towels…

And artwork!

A little hydrangea from the yard is perfect as well!

I think the color combo is super crisp! Are you trying a different color combination? Anything tweaking your interest?

How it all began…

The whole thing that started this bathroom re-do was the vanity. I was not loving a pedestal sink in our one and only bathroom. It didn’t allow for any counter space or storage.

So… one happy day two girls were at a liquidation sale and came upon a most lovely vanity. The first little girl told the second little girl you should definitely buy that vanity - “It’s gor-jay-sa” So she did!

(OK so if you didn’t follow that, I found this vanity at a liquidation sale and a dear friend twisted my arm for me to bite the bullet and purchase it!)

the vanity @ the store

This poor vanity sat in our guest bedroom (yes bedroom!) for way too long of a time. We wanted to get that list we discussed taken care of before bringing in the new piece of furniture. And then there was a mission trip we had to get ready for and go on and then just life in general gets in the way of DIYing.

So first step was removing the old pedestal:

And then the joys of installing the new piece… This took multiple trips to Home Depot. We replaced all the plumbing with new PVC pipe. But still we had trouble with leaking water. URGH!! Maybe it would have been worth it to call a plumber in on this one too.

(Just kidding honey, you did a great job!)

But look at all this nice storage now!

DIY Show off - Project Parade

I am linking up to DIY Show off Project Parade with the bathroom. This is a great site to check out all kinds of DIY projects. Roeshel has amazing projects at her home as well. Be warned you'll be here a while checking out all the great ideas!! Enjoy!!

And she’s done!

Isn’t she pretty!!  I love the new color: Behr’s Aged Beige.  It’s just enough color.  The addition of the deep espresso vanity really adds some nice contrast to the space.  And I am LOVIN’ the new shower curtain, the punch of color and pattern is exactly what I was hoping for!!  Here’s the before in case you forgot what she looked like…

 

And a few more shots – cause there can never be enough pictures!

 

 

 

I’m going to break down the whole re-do for ya in a few days, but I know you’ve been dying to see the finished product! 

So what do you think of it??

Some BBQ

A recent trip to Raleigh NC, allowed us to swing into “The Pit”.  This is a fun little spot with clean decor that serves our good ol’ North Carolina tradition = BAR B QUE.
 
The space is simple but has some fun features.  They have taken the large glass interior “windows” and applied drawings to them.  (I’m thinking it’s done in vinyl)  The feeling is casual with a touch of funk with the lighting.

We started with some Fried Green Tomatoes.  They had a really yummy fresh chow-chow on top, this added just the right crunch and acidity.  These were the best part of the meal!

We both got the combo platter so we could try different meats.  Joe got the brisket and the sliced pork.  I went with the turkey BBQ and the fried chicken.  The brisket was good!  The sliced pork was a little dry.  Fried chicken = YUMMY!  And the turkey BBQ was pretty tasty albeit a little vinegar-y for my preference. The sides were good as well:  cole slaw, baked bean, collards, and Mac & Cheese.  Unfortunately the hushpuppies were not hot!

     

The Pit is run by Ed Mitchell.  You may have seen him on Bobby Flay’s  Throwdown.  Ed was also on Good Morning America this morning!  This guy gets around!  So if you’re in the Raleigh area go try out The Pit’s Q and tell us what you think!

Bathroom Part 1

So just a little reminder of what the bathroom looked like before:

So the plan for the bathroom re-do is this:

1.  Install exhaust fan to help with moisture issue

2.  Fix ceiling from said moisture problem

3.  Add electrical outlet

4.  Change wall color

5.  Install new vanity

6.  Find a fun/dramatic shower curtain

7.  Finish it off with some accessories

There were few items on the list we felt like it would be best to call the professionals in on.  So we called in an electrician and a painter.

 

 

We started to fix the ceiling ourselves a while back with no real success.  So it was time for us to call in someone that could do it in a timely manner with sure success!

So now it was time to remove the old sink and install the new…

Ok that’s all we’re showing today…

Stay tuned for Part Duex!!

Mission Monday – Playing around

 

 

One project always brings another

As we are moving right along with the bathroom update. The linen closet needed some attention as well. This space is rather tricky to keep organized. It’s deep and some what narrow, so items just get pushed and pushed to the back of the closet. So every so often it takes a major overhaul to get it back in working mode.

I can’t believe I’m showing you the before – it’s a little scary!

YIKES!!! That’s serious!

And the now… Quick before you get the previous images burned in your brain!

Mucho bettero!

So after a good purging of old and never used toiletries, I went to the good ol’ Wal-Mart for some new containers. I found some plastic drawers on clearance - $7 each! Which fit perfectly in the lower portion that is awkward space.

And then some great plastic tubs for only $1.50 to store paper goods.

I also picked up some smaller plastic baskets 2 for $1.50.

My one splurge item was for a large jar to house the bar soap. (It was $4.97)

I was able to fold all of all our towels and put them in the linen closet (previously they all lived on a shelf in the bathroom). I also used storage in the chest that we recently re-did for all the table linens that were in this closet; which opened up a lot of space. The bed linens were able to be organized per size on their shelf.

Overall I am super happy with the way the space has turned out. I still would like to make some labels but dear husband borrowed my label maker. So a few more things to do but overall much better!