St. Paddy's Decor

Lizzy and I have been on a decorating kick lately and quite frankly we're amazing at it. We got pink heart doileys and a garland of hearts that are hung around our beds and window. Luckily, her mother picked us out some similar decorations for St. Paddy's Day! (Which, mind you, is spelled with a "ddy") This is our fabulous door, with a picture to represent each of it's inhabitants: Lizzy, Alec and I. It also has our names spelled out on Candy Hearts taped to it. Needless to say, it fits us perfectly. And yes, my side of the door is covered in pugs. 

Here is a view of the inside of the door. We attempted to hang three-leaf clovers above the door and the St. Paddy's garland around this general area. Unfortunately, we woke to these decorations on the floor. It was a sign that they needed to be moved. We re-positioned the garland on the outside of the door and it really completes the door. Both of our closets are stocked full with clothes, which we decided to leave in the photo. This way, all of my raging blog fans get a true sense of what our humble little dorm room looks like.

Here is the leftover Valentine's Day decorations surrounding the window. We added some clovers to the scene to create a lively view for all of the passerby's outside. No college students were injured in the hanging of these decorations.

Finally, here is a beautiful portrait I drew of Lizzy dressed as a clover. It is in honor of St. Paddy's Day and exemplifies the spirit that we captivate through our decorating. I hope everybody is having just as great of a time decorating as we are. 

Some Scrapbooking

This weekend the college held a "Scrapbooking" Late Night event. They hold Late Night events every weekend that usually do not interest me at all. The whole point is to keep people from going out and drinking. Anyway, when I saw that we were having a scrapbooking night I was so excited. I simply could not wait. I literally took the signs down so that less people would go and I had a better chance of winning a prize. Alec went with me and we ended up having a great time. I was worried that he wasn't going to enjoy it but, we both did. Here are some of the pages that we ended up making together:

We made this "puppy love" page together in honor of our future puppy that we want to get. We figured we would make the page and have it all ready for when we get our puppy. I hope a picture of a pug goes on this page..Alec hopes for practically anything but a pug. We might compromise and get a puggle but, that's not anything we need to decide now. Alec came up with the idea for the paw prints after the golden retriever and it turned out so perfect.

Alec made this page to show off the pictures of our cars...and his someday motorcycle. The little stickers have funny phrases like "I do all my own stunts" and the sign says "Welcome to the Beach". I can't wait to see how this page looks when it is finished.

Alec made this page about our stay at Brockport. We figured we'd put the pictures of us at the library or something in it. Plus, going to school at Brockport is a pretty big part of our lives right now. I looked over and he was done with it in 5 minutes. Needless to say, hes a natural.

We made this page for all the days we spend at the lake in the summer. We want to put pictures of us tanning and what not on it. Alec wanted to make sure this page had a picture of a hot dog on it since that is a main staple in our summer lake diet.

Finally, we made a page for a vacation. We have not gone on one yet but, hopefully will soon. This page definitely makes me miss spring break, though.

Here is the last one that I made for our anniversary this year. I will be putting the picture of us all dressed up before we went out to dinner here. We started dating on New Years so, It will also have something to do with 2012 on it, too.

It was so great to be able to do something crafty that I love here at school. I didn't win a 12x12 scrap book but now we get to pick one out together later. I did manage to take some baking stickers to use in my recipe book! I can't wait to get some more pages done and finish these ones.

Social "Networking"

Hello lovelies,

I have been getting in touch with all sorts of social networking sites lately. I have found tumblr to be quite addicting, actually. You can follow my tumblr here and my twitter here. Pinterest is still my true love when it comes to websites, though. The link for my pinterest is on the sidebar. If you want an invite to pinterest just let me know in a comment and I will send you one so you can get in on the action, too! Just a silly little update because there are not many crafts going on at college. There is a scrapbooking event this weekend though. I can't wait!

Born to Bake

Today I want to bake more than anything. Today I want to bake as a career. Today I am sick in bed and can't do either of those things. So, here is some photo inspiration for baking.

I love the vintage containers. love. love them.

1950's style...also love. 

I will probably spend most of today just daydreaming about what to bake and how to bake it. I have been thinking about it all week but, today especially. I might go home in a few weekends so I can bake in a real kitchen. Enjoy.

Heaven Bar

Hello, Darlings. 

Welcome to a little creation that will change your dish to pass forever, and probably your pants size. These delicious, absolutely to die for, bars are the single most decadent recipe I have made yet. I found this recipe on pinterest here. We made some changes to the recipe, though. These bars are composed of a sweet chocolate cookie layer on the bottom, Oreo's in the middle, and brownies on top, and finished off with a thin coat of frosting. The Oreo's absorb the sweetness of the layers that it is sandwiched between and every bite is loaded with flavor. The only downfall is how good these things actually are. I recommend only taking a small square for yourself and donating the rest of the batch to a large group of people who will eat them immediately. This way, you have a chance at avoiding you finishing the entire pan by yourself. Also, the frosting could put them over the top, so If you do decide to use frosting make it a thin layer. Here is the recipe! 

Heaven Bars:

Makes: ~24 Bars

Ingredients

Brownie Layer:

10 tbsp butter

1 1/4 cups white sugar

3/4 cup cocoa powder

pinch of salt

2tsp vanilla extract

2 farm fresh eggs

1/2 cup all purpose flour

Oreo Layer:

1 package of Oreos

Cookie Dough Layer:

1 cup butter (room temperature)

1/2 cup dark brown sugar

1 1/2 cup white sugar

2 farm fresh eggs

2 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

Frosting:

one can of chocolate frosting 

or

your favorite homemade frosting recipe

Instructions

-preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Brownie Batch-

1. Melt the butter over medium high heat in a saucepan.

2. Stir in the sugar and cocoa powder once the butter is completely melted. Remove from heat and whisk the salt, vanilla and eggs together.

3. Stir in the flour. Then, set aside batter.

Cookie Dough-

1. Cream together the butter and sugars in a mixer.

2. Add the eggs and vanilla to the mixture.

3. Then, add the flour, salt, baking soda, and baking powder. Mix on low until combined.

4. Fold in the chocolate chips and set aside.

Assembly-

1. Line the bottom of a 13x9 cake pan with tin foil and then spray with a layer of non-stick cooking spray.

2. Empty the cookie dough into the bottom of the cake pan, pressing it down with your fingers to create a flat base for the Heaven Bars.

3. Cover the cookie dough layer with Oreo's completely, laying them side by side.

4. Pour the brownie batter on top and gently shake the pan until the brownie layer is even.

5. Bake for 40-45 minutes. Test with a knife in the center to make sure the brownies are done.

6. Take them out of the oven and allow them to cool slightly, then place them in the fridge, covered in saran wrap, until they are cool enough to frost.

7. Frost with room temperature chocolate (or any) frosting, then place them back in the fridge so that the frosting settles and cools.

8. Cut into squares and enjoy!