Balcony Garden

It's been apartment living for about 4 years now... while living in the city we weren't able to put plants out much. We lived on a high floor and the wind/city soot was too much. Now that we are out in the suburbs, a balcony garden was born!

 Flower box hanging on railing...

Peppers and herbs! Right now it's basil, jalapenos, and cubanelle peppers

Now I just hope I can keep them all alive :)

Ombre Nails

I know this has nothing to do with baking. Or advice. I've decided to just write whatever I feel like writing.. And today that was nail polish.


I couldn't decide which pink shade to paint my nails. So, I did a few, getting gradually lighter to white on the thumb.

Here are the shades of polish I used!

L-R: Sally Hansen Insta-Dry/Presto Pink, Ulta/Heirhead, Essie/A crewed interest, Essie/limo-scene, Elf/white*


*Not the best polish but it was the only white shade I had. Normally Elf nail polish works okay but only lasts a season or so before becoming difficult to apply. However, I LOVE Elf's nail polish remover pads (only $2 each and they don't smell like polish remover. Amazing)


Happy nail painting!


Alyssa

Spring Wreath

Creativity + $10 = this beautiful wreath!


I was inspired, as always, by beautiful wreaths on Pinterest and Etsy. I knew I could make something similar so I took a stab at it and here's what I got!

I visited my favorite store, Hobby Lobby, for the materials!
A little background on my Hobby Lobby discovery... 
I just moved to a new area a couple months ago. I now live about 15 minutes away from my college roomie and good friend Katie. This means shopping trips which is dangerous for us. We discovered Hobby Lobby and were in HEAVEN! I literally wanted to buy out the entire store in one trip. I used my self restraint and ended up going back a month or so later to get the supplies for this wreath. By the way, there are weekly coupons you can print so check out their website before you visit!


Here's the (approximate) breakdown:


Wreath: $5
Wreath hanger: $3
Felt sheets: $1 each x3
Wire: $1


Ok that's a little more than $10 when you add up all the felt, but this is stuff you might have lying around your house.

I didn't think to take pictures along the way but next time I make one I will! In the meantime here is a website I used to learn how to make the flowers:


How to make the felt flowers


As far as attaching the flowers to the wreath: Once the glue is dry on the flowers, turn them upside down and hot glue a piece of wire to the back. I then stuck a small piece of felt to the glue so the wire is almost invisible except for the ends sticking out. Then stick them into your wreath in any design!


I love this because I can take the flowers out anytime, rearrange them, add more, etc. That way I don't need to keep buying a new wreath every time I want a different look. I definitely prefer a more "full" look so I'll add a few flowers when I have the time. I'd say this was pretty good for my first "DIY wreath"!


Thanks for reading!
Alyssa

Valentine's Day Cupcakes (A little late) :)

I made these last month but kept meaning to write a post about these AMAZING cupcakes. Every month at work we celebrate birthdays so I had the honor of making them this month :) This is not my recipe and they are SO not healthy but they are worth it- trust me!! Of course, they were a hit!

Here's the link: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Brownie-Batter--Cupcake--The-SECOND-BEST-Cupcake-Ever/Detail.aspx


Substituted strawberry cake instead of peanut butter. Idea from http://iheart2stamp.com/2010/06/
THANKS Pinterest! What would I do without you!?

Healthier Banana Bread

Banana bread has been a regular in my house since I was a kid. I've always followed my grandmother's recipe to a T but this time decided to change things up a bit! In effort to swap ingredients for healthier options, I used applesauce instead of butter. I've done this many times in cakes and can't tell the difference and banana bread was no exception. The applesauce made the bread a little more moist than usual. I used Mott's natural (No sugar added) applesauce. Next time I'm going to try using less sugar than the recipe calls for but couldn't bring myself to yet :)

Ingredients:

1 3/4 cup flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
3/4 tsp. salt
1/3 cup applesauce
2/3 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 cup bananas, mashed (about 2-3 bananas)

Directions:
Stir dry ingredients in bowl (excluding sugar). Mix applesauce and sugar with mixer. Add eggs. Stir in banana. Add flour mixture in small portions until blended. Bake at 350F in greased loaf pan for approximately 50 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

You can also add blueberries, cranberries, walnuts, almonds, etc, in small amounts. I love this recipe with blueberries but didn't have any.

ENJOY!