Strawberry Birthday Cake

Grace decided

she wanted a Strawberry Cake

this year for birthday #24: 

Strawberry Cake

adapted from Cupcake Theory

Cake:

1 box white cake mix

1 3-oz. box strawberry Jell-O

1 1/4 c frozen strawberries in syrup, thawed and pureed

4 eggs

1/2 c vegetable oil

1/4 c water

white frosting of your choice

Prepare two 9-inch round cake pans** by greasing and flouring. 

In large bowl, mix cake mix (dry), Jell-O, pureed strawberries, 

eggs, oil, and water. Beat on low speed until combined. 

Beat at medium speed for 2 minutes. 

Pour into cake pans. Bake at 350°F for 22-25 minutes 

or until toothpick inserted into center

 comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes.

 Remove from pans and cool completely.

I heated up the white frosting and drizzled it on top

followed by the leftover strawberries in syrup

I took fresh strawberries and dipped 

them in white chocolate 

filling the bundt cake whole w them

** I used a bundt pan 

Grace The birthday girl:

It was very yummy

one last look....

Linked up to

Tempt my Tummy

Tasty Tues

Homemade Pretzels

Homemade Pretzels

from Alton Brown
and 
Macheesmo.com

*******I only used 1/3 C baking soda 
and it worked perfectly

reviewers claimed that 
using the amt in the recipe 

made it taste like baking soda


*** I used 4 oz butter because
Homemade Pretzels
Directions:
 comes together and pulls away from the sides of the bowl.
 It should form a soft ball after about 4 or 5 minutes.
 in a cup of water every few minutes and
 use it to mix the dough
comes together in a nice ball. 
4) After 5 minutes or so of kneading, 
transfer the dough to a bowl
 that has been coated with vegetable oil 
and turn it a few times
and let it sit at room temperature 
for 60 minutes to rise.
about a 2 foot strip, starting
 from the center and rolling out gently
. If it isn’t stretching you
 and gently whip it up and 
down. It will loosen up the gluten a bit. 
Then take the left end and wrap it to
 the center and then overlay 
the right side. Then kind of adjust it 
so it's pretzel-like.






 the dough was to dry
the recipe says it makes 8
but mine mine 13 
I think it depends on the size 
of the pretzel
you make

Y

1 1/2 Cups warm water,

110 degrees or should be pretty warm to the touch.

1 Tablespoon sugar

2 Teaspoons kosher salt

2 1/4 Teaspoons active dry yeast (1 envelope)

22 ounces All-purpose flour, about 4.5 Cups

2 ounces unsalted butter, melted***

Vegetable oil

15 Cups water

1 Cup baking soda*******

1 large egg

Pretzel salt

1) Combine the water, sugar, salt and

yeast into a bowl 

and let it sit for 5 minutes.

2) Mix in the melted butter and flour.

If you have a mixer,

just put on the dough hook and let it work until the dough

3) Without a mixer, to simulate

a dough hook,dip your hand

vigorously. After a few minutes it 

 to coat the dough ball with oil. Cover it 

5) Take the dough and divide it

evenly (a dough cutter is helpful here)

into 8 pieces. 

 6) Roll the dough out into 

can hold the dough by both ends

7) Bring the water and baking soda to

a rolling boil and gently lay in a pretzel,

one or two at a time. You’ll need a pretty

good sized pot. The pretzel will float

and after about 30 seconds,

flip it over in the water with a spatula

to get the other side. Then after another

30 gently lift it out and place it

on a parchment lined baking sheet,

ready to go for the oven.

8) Once the pretzels come out of the boil,

brush them with some egg wash (1 egg and

1 Tablespoon water) and then sprinkle

them generously with the pretzel salt.

9) Bake at 450 degrees for about 14 minutes.

10) Immediately move them to a cooling rack.

11) After they cool you can pile

them high on a plate.

Or eat them right away!

I like mine with just a bit of mustard.

Inspiration

I saw an earring cuff

that gave me an inspiration

for these necklaces

A friend

had given me some 

broken rosary beads

and loose crosses

and crucifixes

Antique Gold

and pink rosary glass beads

with religious medallion

I think I may have already sold 

the black one!

Earring Knock Off

My niece found the inspiration

for these earrings in 

a Nordstrom's ad

I had the drops

because I couldn't find any small

jewels 

I got the bling from 

a Walmart Holiday 

stickers

taking them off the strip of glue

I found this handy tool

it has wax on one end

I found applying

 the glue to the drop

with a pin the easiest way

The one trick is to 

not press the jewel

to hard on the wax 

I alternated the jewels

Their version:

My version:

Christmas Organization

Something I have been

working on for my booth

These books are narrow 

and college ruled

This is a composition book

I applied modpodge

to the front and put the scrap

paper on top

then lightly sanded the corners

These books

would be great to keep all

of your Christmas info

in one place

recipes, gift giving, Christmas card list

keep it all in one spot!

A couple are available

in my etsy shop

and the others will be added 

in the few next days

linking up to

Market Yourself

Upcycle ornaments

I bought these tin tasting spoons

this summer at Extravaganza not having

a clue what I would do with them

until this morning!

Basically

I modpodged sheet music

on the bowl

and sprinkled glitter

added some bling

and w/ my dremel made the holes

and attached the crystal

this one I used 

a old looking Santa 

the back view

This is an old outdoor faucet

I added rhinestone bling

and a ribbon

These items are 

available at a local store

Rusty n Chippy's

MIA

I can't believe it has been so

long since I posted last...

I never intended to go this long

but I guess life and illness got in the way.

Exciting news business wise....

I have been doing a lot of shows

and my junque/silverware jewelry

has taken off

my esty shop

Some of my work will be in between

the paragraphs

if you are interested in more click here

Well a new shop

Rusty N Chippy's

opened in

our fair city

and they were looking

for someone who did

what I do

and as of this week they will 

be selling my designs!

Needless

to say  I am excited

Healthwise

has not been so gd

I saw a rheumatologist

and got a diagnosis

and was put on a medication

Which I should not 

have been put on

besides the anorexia

it set off my asthma

which had been 

under control for 17 yrs

after 3 wks is getting better

but still having to do treatments

so I got a 2nd opinion 

and this Dr is not convinced

that first diagnosis is right

and is working me up 

ie 15 vials of blood

26 x-rays

All results should be

in the first of January

I am so thankful 

All I can say is that 

this episode has taught me a lot

esp abt ppl w/ chronic conditions

and for the first time in my life

I fully understood how

ppl feel when they say 

they feel despair 

and I now understand

how hard it is 

to have to will yourself

to eat when you really 

don't want to

It really got down to

deciding on whether 

or not the side effects

of a drug are worth

going through to be pain free

My last show 

for this year is this w/e

and I am looking forward

to being done.

I am hoping once

it is over the Christmas bug

will hit me!