Gettin' Creative - On A Budget

So here's the deal. I love baking. I do not love what it does to my hips. And butt. And stomach. Mainly because I bake things loaded with carbs, smothered with cheese, with a side of chocolate-y fat -- especially when B. is in town. Hello, saddlebags. Nice to see you muffin top.

And being creative with cupcake flavors is something that I'd totally love to do -- but it busts the bank! BIG TIME. And since I live alone, it doesn't make sense for me (or my waist) to mix up a dozen cupcakes that may or may not work out.

AT LAST. A reasonable solution. Here is a recipe for cupcakes for two people! Just imagine all the customizing you could do with these basic ingredients to get the desired fancy gourmet cupcakes you want!

And, here is a Buttercream Frosting recipe to match those 2 cupcakes:

Vanilla Buttercream Frosting for Two
Adapted from Sweet Peony
1/4 cup (1/2) stick unsalted butter, softened
1-1 1/2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
2-3 teaspoons water
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

I have to thank the all of blogland for presenting these awesome finds. I am so excited to make these for dinner for B.'s first night. He raved about my strawberry cupcakes I made, so I will try my hand at it again and post the recipe later on in the week.

Anyway. 

I recently moved into my new place -- I got my parents' old bedroom furniture, which is still in near-mint condition from the day my dad bought it nearly 30 years ago. However, the king-sized headboard didn't fit my queen-sized bed. Bummer.

So, I looked around on Pinterest (I can hear my mother snickering about how much I'm on there), and decided to go cheap.

On one of my many trips to the Home Depot during my move, I went and snatched up paint samples. One of each shade in blues and greens that I wanted. (My mom had a little freak out session -- "They're going to think you're stealing those!" Sweet, Mom. You're never going to be a partner in crime with me.)

I ended up with probably 20 of them.

Then I cut them up into large and small trapezoids, triangles, rectangles -- lots of angles. I chose those because they were the easiest to do. Just straight lines. I started off with some circles, but decided it looked just too uneven.

After all this, I bought 2 navy blue foam boards (like for science projects) at the local teacher supply store, and some rubber cement. $14 net, and the paint samples were free.

Then I began arranging. I knew I wanted these two boards to be my sub-in headboards, and I wanted it to be... well, pretty. Something I could potentially hang on to.


Once I got a design I liked, I glued everything down. These are great materials for making mosaics!

Here is the finished product (on the floor of my room). (Sorry about the purse... I just kinda chunked it when I got back from the store). 

I think it's awesome. And the WHOLE THING was $14? Can't beat that.

ANTS!!!!!

Brand-spankin' new town home (well, new to me, they're only like 5 years old). I was able to clean in there before I moved anything in (I'm talking hardcore sterilization here. Not messing around, my place smelled like Mr. Clean's dream for a while there). Now, five days after [nearly] everything is moved in (still waiting on my couch and chair), ANTS!!!

First one I saw was in my bedroom on the light switch. Okay, no big deal. *Smoosh.* Then, a few hours later, I see a trail of ants into my pantry. *Shudder, kill with Raid, wipe up with Blue Dawn.*

That was 2 days ago. Now, 3/4 of a bottle of Raid later, and countless swear words thrown about, I am officially skeeved out. They're in my laundry room, pantry, kitchen, bathroom, bedroom, and closet. CLOSET! Right, like in the 4 nights I've slept there, I've had a pig-out session in any of the rooms except the kitchen.

Plus, what kind of freak ants don't die with Raid for Ants? Mutant ants. I'm so angry because my pantry is SPIC AND SPAN. Airtight containers, no spills, no crumbs on my counter... my mother is happy to come over to my place, that's how clean it is. So there's nothing for me to clean up to make them go away.

So I called my apartment complex, and they said Terminex doesn't come until Monday, but they'll see "if the maintenance guys have anything." And I'm thinking "good luck matching my arsenal." But of course, I just say "okay, thank you."

If anyone reading this has any suggestions, at this point, I am all ears. I've made a point to clean their paths with cleaners so that the pheromone tracks are erased and unable to be discovered by their little buddies.

First Post -- Outback Mac'n'cheese Copycat

Howdy y'all! I'm Courtney, an early 20-something Texan who has recently graduated from a lovely, private Southern Baptist university in the heart of Texas. We recently had a Heisman winner, to give you a better idea =) I work as an IT business analyst now, and it's a fairly rewarding job.

I've resolved to try to blog as much as I can -- about what, who knows? DIY, recipes, crafts... probably recipes though! I love cooking and my waistline shows it (damn breads, they are my downfall!). I also love crafts and thrift shopping, although I tend to spend way too much money on that stuff. I've been trying to get into couponing, and so far have been fairly successful.


So -- TODAY I will bring you my ever-so-simple but ever-so-delicious

Outback Style Macaroni and Cheese 

Are you excited? Because I am. So, so excited.

Ingredients:
1 box penne pasta
2 cups heavy cream
2 cups (or 16 oz) of Velveeta cheese

1. In a non-stick sauce pan over medium heat, melt the Velveeta cheese. Stir in the heavy cream, slowly but surely. Note: You can melt these together in a microwave-safe bowl if your microwave is big enough... and you have a bowl that is big enough.
2. While melting the cheese together with the cream, cook the pasta until it is soft, but not mushy. You'll need to look at the suggested cooking time and taste test for done-ness a few minutes beforehand. 
3. Heat the sauce until it is fully combined. Be very careful to stir frequently, as there is nothing more disgusting than getting a burned "scab" of cheese (that probably just made a few of you lose your appetite...).
4. Serve the pasta into dishes and let those hungry people serve themselves on the sauce for sauce control.

This is a total hit in my family for family holidays, like Thanksgiving. MmmmmMMM.