9.15.2012
"Wrought Iron" Garden Art
I've been looking for inexpensive iron art for my fence along a large stretch of grass on the side yard. When I came across this outdoor rubber floor mat for $6 at one of my favorite discount stores, I was sold! A little construction adhesive to attach a $2 wooden letter from Michael's, and wha-la! "Wrought iron" garden art!!
9.09.2012
Gluten Free Salted Caramel Pumpkin Cake
I am so happy Fall is in the air! Cinnamon candles, Starbucks salted caramel mochas and pumpkin EVERYTHING! Or as we say in my household, "Punkin". When I realized I could combine 2 of my favorite things-salted caramel and pumpkin, I was in Heaven! Pumpkin cake with buttercream frosting and salted caramel drizzle..... Ugh! Now clean up your drool and start baking! This is the first gluten-free, dairy-free thing I have ever made where I had multiple people without dietary restrictions have asked for the recipe!
Gluten-Free Cake:
1 1/2 Cup Brown Rice Flour
1/3 cup Tapioca Flour
1/2 tsp Baking Powder
1 tsp Baking Soda
3/4 tsp Sea Salt
1/2 Nutmeg
1/2 Cup Canola Oil
1 1/3 Cup Sugar
2 Eggs or egg replacement
1 Cup Canned Pumpkin
1/3 Cup Water
3/4 tsp Vanilla
(For the "Glutenous Maximus" version of this recipe, replace brown rice and tapioca flours with 1 2/3 cups all purpose white flour.)
Frosting:
1/4 cup Earth Balance Buttery Spread, softened
2 tsp Hazelnut Milk
1/2 tsp Cinnamon
2/3 tsp Vanilla
1 1/2 Cup Powdered Sugar
Caramel Drizzle
6 Tbs Dark Brown Sugar
2 Tbs Water
2 Tbs Earth Balance Buttery Spread
1/2 tsp Salt
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix all ingredients for cake and bake for about 35 minutes or until it bounces back when you press the top.
Frost with the frosting, drizzle with the drizzle and top with rock sea salt! Enjoy!!
Gluten-Free Cake:
1 1/2 Cup Brown Rice Flour
1/3 cup Tapioca Flour
1/2 tsp Baking Powder
1 tsp Baking Soda
3/4 tsp Sea Salt
1/2 Nutmeg
1/2 Cup Canola Oil
1 1/3 Cup Sugar
2 Eggs or egg replacement
1 Cup Canned Pumpkin
1/3 Cup Water
3/4 tsp Vanilla
(For the "Glutenous Maximus" version of this recipe, replace brown rice and tapioca flours with 1 2/3 cups all purpose white flour.)
Frosting:
1/4 cup Earth Balance Buttery Spread, softened
2 tsp Hazelnut Milk
1/2 tsp Cinnamon
2/3 tsp Vanilla
1 1/2 Cup Powdered Sugar
Caramel Drizzle
6 Tbs Dark Brown Sugar
2 Tbs Water
2 Tbs Earth Balance Buttery Spread
1/2 tsp Salt
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix all ingredients for cake and bake for about 35 minutes or until it bounces back when you press the top.
Frost with the frosting, drizzle with the drizzle and top with rock sea salt! Enjoy!!
5.29.2012
Strawberries and Cream Cupcakes
Ummm, so strawberries were on sale.....
My husband takes things very literally. When I asked him for some lotion at Victoria's Secret for my birthday when we first started dating, he bought me an entire sample pack with about 5 pounds of lotion, the matching body sprays, and one large of each of his favorites. Needless to say, we've been together 8 years and I still have an entire drawer of lotion. I digress. So I asked him for strawberries yesterday, and I got about 32 million pounds. Strawberry cupcakes anyone?
Ever read something that rings so true you want to tattoo it on your arm?
Start by making cupcakes from the box. Butter recipe is still my favorite! Put about 5 large strawberries in a blender and pulse 3 times, or until straberries are chunky. Mix strawberry pulp into batter and continue to bake folling instructions on the box.
Frost using my favorite frosting recipe!
3-3/4 cup (l lb. box) Powdered Sugar
1/4
cup milk
1 tsp. vanilla
1/3 cup butter (2/3 stick), softened
1/4 tsp. salt 1/3 cup butter (2/3 stick), softened
Place sliced strawberries spuratically on top and leave some plain. Garnish all with white or green pearl sprinkles for a touch of fun.
5.19.2012
Hanging for Dummies
Do you look at something with 2 hanging brackets and run the other way? No more! This is the easiest way to hang a picture, a shelf, or whatever you could ever hang! Here's what you need:
Hammer
Nails
Toothpaste(preferable blue in color)
A level
Put a dab of toothpaste on the bracket, right above where the nail would go.
Lick off the excess if you'd like for minty freshness ;)
Locate your toothpaste marks on the wall, and revel in the simplicity of this method!
You now have perfect marks of where exactly to put your nails!
Beautiful!!!
5.09.2012
The Apple of my Iris
Last year in my daily browsing of my beloved Craigslist, I decided to check out the "free stuff" section. I'm not going to lie, that section scares me a little..... But 2 days after I had purchased Iris bulbs for $4 a piece, the title "free Iris bulbs" caught my eye. (Rest assured, I am always very cautious when I do my Craigslisting. More on that later.) I showed up at the house with a small spade and a Nordstrom bag. Little did I know.... This guy had 5 beds of Iris the size of my house!! He laughed at my spade and gave me a full size shovel and in 3 hours I had the entire back of my Jeep FULL! I planted them on my side yard so I could cut them and have them inside!
I love being able to go out in my yard and cut as many as I want! My office, friends and family are all receiving flowers this month!!
5.04.2012
3.05.2012
The Secret to Good Negotiation
I am an awesome negotiator. Over the years, I have saved thousands of dollars, just by asking! What would you do with an extra thousand dollars or two? That's a lot of Starbucks.....
Coupons: You don't have to be some extreme couponer. Before you go, just search online for in store coupons. A lot of places offer a 20% off coupon or $50 off coupon just for signing up for their email. I actually downloaded one coupon from a furniture store website that was $50 off. I went to the sale section and found a vase that was half off, plus the $50 off, and I got a $100 vase for FREE!
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Free Delivery: Most furniture stores pay their sales staff commission. They want to sell something just as much as you want to buy it! Go ahead! Ask for extra discounts, free delivery, anything extra they can throw your way if you "buy it today". They know they are more likely to make a sale if you buy it today, than if they charge you full delivery and take the chance that you'll come back and make the purchase tomorrow. Most associates have the authority to remove the delivery discount, and by all means, ask! Don't be intimidated if they have to call a manager. I used this tactic on my bedroom set and saved myself $400!
Make 'em sweat: If they don't give you a deal, walk away. You can always come back and get the same deal if you can't live without it. But chances are, the closer you get to the door, the sweeter the deal will get. I got this chandelier at a garage sale from $50 to $35 by walking away :)
Milk your discounts: Are you a contractor? Military? A senior? A student? A teacher? Do you work in the same complex as the store? A lot of stores give discounts for many reasons. Just ask what kind of discounts they offer and you're likely to fit into one of those categories!
Craigslist negotiation:
Make the trip: Drive to the location before you make an offer. Just tell them you would like to come see it, but don't give them the price in your head yet. I made a half hour trip for this bookcase and got it for $100 off the asking price, plus he delivered it to my house and put it in my office!
Point out the imperfections: If you're buying something used, it's going to have some scratches and dents-that's what gives it character! But Craigslist Seller McGoo does not need to know that you are excited about the history of the piece. If they said it was in great shape in the ad, just say "Well it's not in the condition I was expecting, it hardly looks new...", and if they warned you about some scratches in the ad, just say "I didn't realize it had this many scratches on it...".
If it's in perfect shape, point out something else: "Well, it's a lot larger than I imagined, I just don't know how it's going to look in the space..." or "It looks a lot different than the picture on Craigslist..."
Really debate over the decision-1.because you need to in any purchase, and 2. because it's a great negotiating tool! While you're thinking about it or "thinking about it", Craigslist Seller McGoo is thinking "Man, I really just want to get rid of this thing! I'd give it away for free right now!" ...And that's when you pounce :) Because of a few imperfections, I got this Pottery Barn end table for $5!
See beyond the photo: Most people are horrible at taking pictures. Really look at what you're buying and not the quality of the photo. The less others can see in the photo, the better for you! Less competition = greater negotiation. I bought this bed(headboard, footboard, etc, NOT a mattress!) off a picture of it in 10 pieces, laying on a floor of a dark garage. I was able to get it for $50, and once I put it together, I could have sold it for $300!
Make an offer: After pointing out the imperfections and your concerns, say "Since I'm really not sure about it, I'd like to try it and give you $___ for it." Too simple? Fine, make it harder, but I'm not going to teach you how to do it!! This negotiation tool has worked 10 out of 10 times for me. I even got one man to deliver a bookcase to my door.
Never refuse a hand-me-down! I was given this palm from an old friend in college who was moving to California. I offered him $20 for it, but he gave it to me for free! A new ceramic pot and it has been a main piece in our living room for years.
This Horchow mirror started as a horrid picture on Craigslist of the side of it in a corner of a storage unit. A 45 minute trip and a bit of negotiating, I got this $900 mirror for $150.
Coupons: You don't have to be some extreme couponer. Before you go, just search online for in store coupons. A lot of places offer a 20% off coupon or $50 off coupon just for signing up for their email. I actually downloaded one coupon from a furniture store website that was $50 off. I went to the sale section and found a vase that was half off, plus the $50 off, and I got a $100 vase for FREE!
.JPG)
Free Delivery: Most furniture stores pay their sales staff commission. They want to sell something just as much as you want to buy it! Go ahead! Ask for extra discounts, free delivery, anything extra they can throw your way if you "buy it today". They know they are more likely to make a sale if you buy it today, than if they charge you full delivery and take the chance that you'll come back and make the purchase tomorrow. Most associates have the authority to remove the delivery discount, and by all means, ask! Don't be intimidated if they have to call a manager. I used this tactic on my bedroom set and saved myself $400!
Make 'em sweat: If they don't give you a deal, walk away. You can always come back and get the same deal if you can't live without it. But chances are, the closer you get to the door, the sweeter the deal will get. I got this chandelier at a garage sale from $50 to $35 by walking away :)
Milk your discounts: Are you a contractor? Military? A senior? A student? A teacher? Do you work in the same complex as the store? A lot of stores give discounts for many reasons. Just ask what kind of discounts they offer and you're likely to fit into one of those categories!
Craigslist negotiation:
Make the trip: Drive to the location before you make an offer. Just tell them you would like to come see it, but don't give them the price in your head yet. I made a half hour trip for this bookcase and got it for $100 off the asking price, plus he delivered it to my house and put it in my office!
If it's in perfect shape, point out something else: "Well, it's a lot larger than I imagined, I just don't know how it's going to look in the space..." or "It looks a lot different than the picture on Craigslist..."
Really debate over the decision-1.because you need to in any purchase, and 2. because it's a great negotiating tool! While you're thinking about it or "thinking about it", Craigslist Seller McGoo is thinking "Man, I really just want to get rid of this thing! I'd give it away for free right now!" ...And that's when you pounce :) Because of a few imperfections, I got this Pottery Barn end table for $5!
Make an offer: After pointing out the imperfections and your concerns, say "Since I'm really not sure about it, I'd like to try it and give you $___ for it." Too simple? Fine, make it harder, but I'm not going to teach you how to do it!! This negotiation tool has worked 10 out of 10 times for me. I even got one man to deliver a bookcase to my door.
Never refuse a hand-me-down! I was given this palm from an old friend in college who was moving to California. I offered him $20 for it, but he gave it to me for free! A new ceramic pot and it has been a main piece in our living room for years.
This Horchow mirror started as a horrid picture on Craigslist of the side of it in a corner of a storage unit. A 45 minute trip and a bit of negotiating, I got this $900 mirror for $150.
I got this Pennsylvania House wingback chair on Craigslist from a college kid. When I showed up, it was completely different from what the photo looked like, and the kid just wanted to get rid of it, not realizing it was a $1,200 chair. I hesitated, and he offered it to me for free, but I felt bad and gave him $5 for coffee :) Not a recommended negotiating tactic, but I figured I've saved so much over the years, it's time to pay it forward!
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