~77~ Two's Better Than One

Cakes that is!

On Wednesday, I finished up the Wilton Cake Decorating Class, Course 2.  And what perfect timing that was since my birthday is on Saturday :)  Throughout the course, we learned how to use royal icing to make beautiful flowers and accents, which we used at the last class to decorate a cake as our final project.  We also learned how do the basket weave design and a couple of new borders that I also incorporated in my cake.
Many remarked that it was a bummer I had to make my own birthday cake, but then I quipped that I honestly love doing it.  I may have mentioned this in a previous post, but I always thought that getting to my a cake on my birthday was a treat for me.  I have always loved decorating cakes - but now, it actually looks like I know what I'm doing…sort of.

Here's how my final project turned out:

In addition to making a cake for my family birthday celebration, I made another one to bring to work and share with my coworkers.  Friday (the day before my birthday) also coincided with Iowa State's basketball team playing in the Sweet 16, so I decided it would only be fitting to make an ISU (birthday) cake.

Not only was some delicious cake had, but I also got spoiled by those dearest to me. 

A few week prior, I went home to MN to visit family and friends and celebrate my birthday with them. In addition to getting some much appreciated spending money, I also got my favorite perfume from Thymes, which is only available in MN (as far as I know), an adorable teapot, and my brother's homemade amazing root beer.  *Cue shameless plug: Seriously, if you're looking to make some one-of-a-kind beer, check out Vine Park Brewing Company in St. Paul, MN.  Jake and his groomsmen went there the day of our rehearsal dinner to brew some beer together, as well as bottle up a 6-pack into their own custom made bottles.  They still talk about how much fun they had almost 3 years later).  

Back home in Grimes, I had a second celebration with Jake's side of the family at our house, where I got some very generous gifts of lunch, Amazon and Bed Bath and Beyond gift cards, we well as Catching Fire on blu-ray! 

Jake really spoiled me this year

He got me a checker board cake pan set, a new walking/jogging belt that holds all sorts of stuff in it securely, Saving Mr. Banks on blu-ray, and best of all, a new cake supply caddy that I've been bugging him about.  During my eight weeks of cake class, I was carrying around all of my tips, colors, spatulas, decorator bags, and class kit in this green bag.  For this OCD girl, it was certainly headache inducing. 

Now, it's all neatly organized in this beautiful tool caddy: 

I have a designated spot for all of tips, colors, and frequently-used decoration tools in the top 

and extra storage underneath for all of the less frequently used items like my fondant, roller, piping gel, gum paste, and molds. 

The actual day was spent in pampering with a massage in the afternoon, dinner, sushi, and drinks at my favorite thai restaurant with the bestest friends, and then bowling and more drinks at the local bowling alley.  I'd say it was the most perfect day :)

~76~ House-i-versary

Not sure if "house-i-versary" is actually a word, but I'm making it one. 

A year ago today, Jake and I signed our life away and this beautiful house became ours. 

It's hard to believe it's been a whole year already. 

In some regards, it feels like we've lived here forever because it is so much like home.  I LOVE coming home to this house.  In other ways, it feels like we just moved in because time has been going by so quickly lately (and we don't even have kids!).

As I reflect back on the past year, it amazes me how much Jake's  we've done since moving in. One of the appeals of the house was that we didn't NEED to do anything.  It really was move in ready.  It was really well maintained and aside from the absence of an en suite (aka attached master bathroom), it had everything we wanted in a home.  However, it had lots of potential to really make it ours; a task that I believe we successfully accomplished.

Our immediate project when we got keys was painting. LOTS of painting. Like 7 rooms and 2 hallways worth.  I'll be ok never picking up a paint brush again.  

All that aside, here's what we've done in just 12 short months:

1. Add track lighting and a recessed appliance box to our den

2. Redid the vanity in the master bathroom 

3. Redid the guest bathroom

4. Converted the guest bedroom into a poker room/man cave

5. Updated the master closet

6. Sodded the backyard, added a flower bed, and lattice fencing around the deck + putting a border around the front garden bed. 

Plus, all of the little things that provide added functionality, but aren't necessarily blog-worthy ;)

So, what's in store for our house in the next year?  Not a whole lot.  We adore our house and feel that we now have everything the way we really want it.  The smaller projects are left include: 

-Combining my craft room with the office.  The plan is to create a fold down craft table, with better shelving.  The office desk will get moved into the craft room and the large entertainment center and futon will get moved out.

-Expanding/beautifying the garden. Fingers crossed the plants I put in last year come back this year!

-Finally getting the chimney inspected and in working order.  We still haven't taken down the plastic that's taped inside for fear of what we'll find.  That will be a summer task. 

Other than that, I guess we'll just have to wait and see what the next year brings. 

Until then, 

~75~Master Closet Redo

Apparently all of this cabin fever leads to lots of updates in our home.

This past weekend, we dedicated it to redoing our master bedroom closet.  

When we bought the house, this is what it looked it. 

(This is really my craft room closet-it has the same doors, but it slightly smaller than our master closet)

I knew right away that I wanted to replace the doors with bifold ones to maximize the space and make the middle of the closet accessible.  After doing some research online, we agreed on this set from home depot. 

We also knew that we didn't love the set up inside the closet and wanted to add some built-in shelving to make it more organized and easier to find what we wanted.  Our inspiration was this: 

Many of the closet systems that we initially found were outside of the budget we had set for ourselves.  Luckily on a random trip to Target, I noticed that their ClosetMaid items were all on clearance.  Score!  I picked up 2 floor organizers to put shoes on, since prior to the redo, they were chaotically strewn on the floor.  

I also purchased 2 stackable shelving units to center in the closet. 

A few dowels and shelves later, we were ready to put it all in. 

The first step was hammering the frame pieces on the inside of the arch.  Our closet was 58 1/4" wide, and the bifold doors are 60" wide when closed, so we needed to add almost 2 inches to make them fit.  

Next, we had to trim down one of the shoe shelves to make it fit along the bottom.  Once those were done, we installed the vertical shelves. 

Then, we added in the dowels, fitting them between the vertical shelves and the wall for the lower racks, and from wall to wall above the shelves for the upper rack. 

The last step was installing the doors!

We love the new look and efficiency of our closet.  Since we don't/can't have a walk in closet in this house, we figured this would be the next best thing.

Project Details: 

BiFold Doors: $44/ea

Shoe shelves: $20/ea 

Vertical Shelves: $20/ea

Dowels: $8

Shelves: $28

Total cost: $204

~74~ Remember when….?

Remember when Jake and I decided to do the Advocare 24 day challenge a year ago?

Well, after a year of continuing success, I've decided to take it to the next level. 

Want to know how?  Check out my sister blog!

~73~ Guest Room Redo

Now that the guest bathroom was complete, the next step was converting our guest bedroom into a "Man Cave".  

Jake has been wanting to do it for a while, and after making a plan for everything he wanted, we finally put plans into actions.  While I was hesitant at first to give up our guest room, Jake made a very valid point that it was a room that was a waste of space for all but 5 or 6 days a year.  

The plan included turning the guest bed into a a make-shift murphy bed that would be easy to set up when we did need a guest bed, and just as easily put back into place when we were done using it.  On the back of the box spring we screwed in MDF board with built in nuts to screw leg posts into.  When we have a guest, the legs are added and the bed flips down into place.  When it's in man cave mode, the bed acts as a faux wall, instantly opening up the space.

The room is complete with an homage to all of Jake's favorite teams: Vikings, ISU Cyclones, and Cubs), as well as his favorite tv show, Game of Thrones.  

The centerpiece to the room is our new poker table that we found on Craigslist.  It's a vintage bumper pool table with an added poker top that also flips over to create fully functioning table.  It fits perfectly and was a necessary piece to go with Jake's new poker set that he got for Christmas.  

I really love how the room came together, really represents Jake in a really cohesive way.  One of my favorite pieces in the room is his poster from "AfroMan" signed by Samuel L. Jackson that he got from work, along with the animated dvd that goes with it. 

The final touch was a bar made to fit around his mini-fridge. 

Project Details: 
PokerTable (craigslist): $100
Purple paint: $50
Sports decorations: $75
Wood Shelves: $40
"Murphy bed" supplies: $50
Wood for Fridge Shelf: $25
Light Fixture: $30
Light Switch: $20
Total Cost: $390

What do you think?  What would you want in your man cave?

Until next time,

~72~ Guest Bathroom Redo

It's probably not a huge surprise, but our guest bathroom isn't exactly the nicest room in our house.  Ever since we moved in, changing pretty much everything about it was on the list.  

The first changes were made a few months back when I added a stained crate shelf that doubles as a hand towel bar, as well as some cute framed art I found at JoAnns. 

Just before Christmas, Jake and I agreed that we'd use any Christmas money that we received to buy a new vanity/sink for the guest bathroom.  We ended up finding a great deal at Home Depot where we also bought the chrome faucet.  With the help of Jake's uncle, Johnny, we were able to get it installed without too much hassle.  Immediate upgrade!

While we were at it, we decided we might as well get rid of the bulky and not so pretty mirror and light combo.  After doing some searching online, I found a 3 bulb wall light from Lowe's that I really liked.  It's different from any other light fixture I've seen before in that type of style, and wasn't too expensive.  

Once we got that installed, we needed to touch up the paint underneath the old mirror.  Unfortunately the previous owners didn't leave any of the paint or the name of the color.  However, Jake cut out a piece that is hidden under the vanity and I was able to get it color matched at Lowes, which is also where we ended up getting our mirror from.  

At first, we debated on what shape mirror to get.  I had contemplated going with an oval just to mix things up, but after talking over with Jake and some friends, we decided to go with a rectangular mirror because we thought it would mix better with the linear look of the vanity and light fixture.  By the way, holy cow mirrors can be REALLY expensive.  The one we ultimately chose was very reasonably priced at only $30.  We chose white to compliment the vanity top and to provide some contrast between the dark vanity and dark light fixture.  

The final product: 

It's amazing to me how just a few little changes can make a big difference in the overall look of a room, and it was done very inexpensively.  When all was said and done, it cost just over $200. 

Project Details: 

Vanity: $69

Faucet: $30

Light Fixture: $60

Mirror: $30

Paint: $15

Plumbing Supplies: $20

Total Cost: $224

 I absolutely love our guest bathroom now and I can't wait to show it off to family and friends.  A HUGE thank you to Jake and Uncle Johnny for all of their hard work getting it done, and so quickly!  We started the project on Wednesday and it was completely finished by the end of Saturday night.  

In addition to transforming the bathroom, Jake is also working on converting our guest bedroom into a Man Cave that will double as a poker room and workout room.  There will be more on that in the coming weeks as we finish out the project. 

Until then, 

~71~Cutting the cake

Sorry for the delayed post! Things have been crazy busy between a math/literacy night at school, homework, getting ready for conferences, watching eating food at the Superbowl, and remodeling our guest bathroom and basement (I'll save that for another post).

Last Wednesday was my last cake decorating class.  We needed to bring a cake that was already baked, filled, and frosted, so I spent Monday night baking and Tuesday night doing the frosting.  I chose a marble cake and filled it with chocolate mousse.  I like to use the Dream Whip mix with instantly chocolate pudding.  It's super easy and tastes really good.

At class, we spent most of the time learning how to make ribbon roses.  Let me tell you, they are not easy!  It took a lot of work to consistently get them to come out nicely.  For myself, it was really squeezing the frosting with lots of pressure while turning the rose nail.  I probably did 479,084 of them before I got one that even resembled a rose.  But, by the time class ended, I had some presentable roses and a pretty nice looking cake.  After placing the roses, there were a lot of gaps, so I filled them with some pretty green leaves.

 I supposed I should give credit where credit is due.  The center rose was made by the course instructor.  She is not only a great cake decorator, but a fantastic teacher as well.

In addition to making my rose cake, I decided to show off practice some of my new skills on a Superbowl cake.  Using the gel transfer trick that I learned in week 2 of class, I put both team's logo in the center and used the team colors to create a pretty border.  The middle of each border was done using a #14 star tip. 

I enjoyed my time in class so much that I've already registered for the next level and will start again in March.

I also have some exciting things to share in the next couple weeks showcasing the changes we've made to our house.  

Until then,