Quick Mailbox Makeover

In the 3 years I've lived in my house, my mailbox has been hit at least 3 times. After the 2nd time, we cemented the post into the ground and painted the post to match the house.  I even planted some flowers at the base.

Unfortunately the flowers didn't last long.  My mailbox gets direct sunlight and I didn't water them enough. 

So I started looking for mailbox garden ideas. A friend told me about their neighbor who had a large pot that their mailbox post was in.  I decided to try it for my mail box.

I purchased a large (22"+) wine barrel that I cut a small hole in the base.  This was so I could put it over my mailbox post, since my post was cemented in the ground. I had to remove the cross post and my mail box in order to position the pot.  This was fairly easy since we had screwed the posts together.

I filled the bottom of the pot with gravel to help with drainage, and I also filled in around the pot with gravel to fend off weeds.

I am very pleased with the end result!  I'm hoping that the potting soil (and the pot) will help keep more moisture for the plants.  My mailbox is now one of a kind!

Country Walkway

For our "Spring Break" we decided to build a walkway from the porch to the driveway.

I had already purchased a Quikrete Walkmaker Mold after seeing a friend make a path with one.  I loved the 'Country Stone Pattern' and knew this would make a great design for our walkway.

First we marked out the outline of the path and took measurements. (Helpful Tip - when calculating the area make sure you are awake and don't think 17 x 2 is 24! This will greatly skew the amount of supplies you will need!)

Then we began removing the grass (which we transplanted into the backyard) and then dug down about 4 inches.

This was a very labor intense process but setting the right foundation will ensure the longevity of our walk way.

Then we filled in about 3 inches of drainage rock {paver base rock) and used a tamper to compress it down.

Next we filled in with about an inch of leveling sand (paver sand) that we tamped down and made sure it was as close to level as possible.

Finally we were ready to use the Walkmaker mold!  We decided to dye the concrete a dark charcoal color.
(The Walkmaker instructions say use one 80lb bag of concrete per mold, but we found one 80lb bag was good for 1 and a half molds.)

This part is very tedious, with the concrete mixing, mold filling, and smoothing. But with a little patience the pavers turned out great.

The concrete looked much darker before it dried.  I was worried it would be too dark.  But after letting it set for a day they turned out much lighter.

We finished the walkway by filling in around the country stones with pea pebbles. You could also use polymeric sand (but we had too much space around our pavers to use that.)

The pea pebbles still need to settle down, and the pavers have some dust from the pebbles, but I love our new walkway!

French Doors

It's been a busy 2013.  We have lots of projects going on with the house.  The big one has been changing out all the windows, to new insulated ones.

I snuck in another project this weekend of changing out the french doors.  I noticed back in the fall after a heavy rainstorm that my french doors were leaking. Rain was coming in through the panes!

Here is what my old french doors looked like.

It's hard to tell, but they had 4 horizontal panes.  I believe they were designed to match the windows, which also had horizontal panes.  I've never seen french doors like these before.

First we had to remove the old doors.  I was very surprised how large of an opening they left behind.

(If you look closely you can see it started raining on us during this process.)

The new doors were almost 8 inches smaller than the original, so we had to fill in 4 inches on both sides of the door.  8 inches sounds like a lot, but you really don't notice a difference.

Well you do notice the hot pink  2'' x 4''s right now.  But they will be covered by the vinyl siding when we redo all the siding in the fall.

I love my new french doors! 

Pecan Pie Cheesecake

I have seen this recipe for Pecan Pie Cheesecake all over Pinterest. I knew I had to make it for Thanksgiving.  I mean who doesn't love Pecan Pie and Cheesecake?

The crust is made from crushed Vanilla Wafer, yummy!  I may use this as a crust for future pies.

I have never made a Pecan Pie so this process was all new to me.  I really thought there would be more Dark Karo Syrup in the mix.

I had made a Cheesecake earlier this year, but this recipe was different.  Using the brown sugar made the cake a darker color, and everyone kept asking me why the cake wasn't creamy white. I'm assuming the recipes calls for brown sugar to keep the similar molasses flavors in both the pie and cake.

Something to point out - Always wrap your spring form pans with foil!  I always have a little bit of filling that leaks out while baking.

The Pie/Cake was delicious.  I was afraid it would be too sweet, but it wasn't. The cheesecake wasn't very sweet, it was more tart which balanced well with the sweetness of the pecan pie. In my opinion the pie to cake ratio was low. Next time I will make more pie filling and less cheesecake so they are even.

The Pecan Pie Cheesecake didn't even last through the Thanksgiving weekend! I will definitively make this one again.

Pecan Pie Cheesecake

Crust:
1 ¾ cups vanilla wafer crumbs
¼ cup firmly packed brown sugar
⅓ cup butter, melted

Pecan Filling:
1 cup sugar
⅔ cup dark corn syrup
⅓ cup butter, melted
2 eggs
1 ½ cups chopped pecans
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Cheesecake Filling:
3 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
1 ¼ cups firmly packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
4 eggs
⅔ cup heavy whipping cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract


Crust:

Preheat oven to 350°. Combine wafer crumbs and brown sugar. Stir in melted butter. Press into bottom and up sides of a 9″ springform pan. Bake for 6 minutes. Set aside to cool.

Pecan Filling:

Combine all ingredients in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat and simmer until thickened, about 8-10 minutes, stirring constantly. Pour into crust and set aside.

Cheesecake Filling:

Reduce oven to 325°. With a hand mixer or stand mixer, beat cream cheese at medium speed until creamy. Add brown sugar and flour and beat until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each one. Stir in cream and vanilla. Pour over pecan filling. Bake for 1 hour. Turn off oven and leave cheesecake in oven with the door closed for 1 hour. Remove from oven and run a knife along the outside edges to loosen cheesecake from sides of pan. Let cool. Chill for at least 4 hours before serving.

Hot Fudge Pie

I was looking for an easy chocolate dessert to make for a Football Party last weekend, and I found this recipe for Hot Fudge Pie.

After reading the blog and learning it was her grandma's recipe, I had high hopes it would be delicious! It also only had 7 ingredients, all of which I had on hand. And with Hot Fudge in the title, I was sold.  I could eat just hot fudge (no ice cream) and be a happy camper.

Ingredients
4 ounces unsalted butter
1 ½ squares unsweetened baking chocolate (1.5 ounces)
1 cup sugar
2 eggs, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons milk

Directions

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Butter an eight-inch diameter pie plate or cake pan – I used a 9 inch, which made my pie a little thinner.
3. Melt butter and chocolate - I also used the microwave to do this, very easy.
4. Mix sugar into beaten eggs, combine until sugar is fully incorporated.
5. Mix in butter-chocolate mixture until completely blended.
6. Add vanilla and milk. Stir well.
7. Fold in flour, mixing just until no white streaks remain – do not overbeat.
8. Bake for 25 minutes.

Pre Baking 

Out the Oven

I did have some trouble determining if it was done.  I knew it would have a fudgey texture so the toothpick trick wasn't going to help.  I let my pie bake a few extra minutes, and then let it cool.

We didn't eat the pie until hours later, so it wasn't all hot and gooey like the blog directed. I did warm it in the microwave before adding the ice cream.

This pie is amazing! The texture is fudgey and its so chocolaty!  I will definitively be making this again.  Grandmother Jessie - thank you for this recipe!    

Door Decor

A few months ago I stumbled upon this Door Initial idea on Pinterest - Door Initial Monogram Shabby Chic. I thought it was super cute, but I could easily make it for much less than $50.  

We started by choosing a font and making a template for the letter. Then we cut the letters out of plywood.

I painted a base coat of a dark brown.  Then I layered a barn red over it.  It look a few layers and mixes to achieve the antique look I was going for.  I found the best way was to paint the red and then use my fingers to blend in some browns for accent.

I picked up some fabric flowers, lace ribbon and wheat at my craft store to decorate the letters.

Here is my letter S and the inspiration Letter S.

 

I am pleased with how mine turned out (definitively shabby-chic), and it cost much less than $10.  

My door S is hanging in my kitchen now, since I have my fall wreath on my front door.

Halloween Cookies

I randomly have Halloween cookie cutters.  So I decided to make some Halloween (Sugar-Free) Sugar Cookies. I found a great tasting recipe made with Splenda. - Sweet as Sugar Cookies.

 

I covered my counter top with wax paper to try to minimize the mess. 

This recipe makes over 3 dozen cookies!  I also found that I needed to bake them for 10-12 minutes to achieve the lightly browned edges.

Michael's decorated cookies! 

(The icing is not sugar free, but it makes you feel less guilty when the cookie is!)

I hope everyone had a Happy Halloween!