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This post is going to be a little different than my usual posts... because its about cupcakes. I realize that cupcakes are not really something that you can decorate your house with, however, I think that comfort is a big part of making a new place a home. And cupcakes are definitely comforting. Plus, who doesn't love an apartment that smells like somethings baking???

So, without further ado... I give you, Nannie Cakes: A deliciously moist chocolate cupcake, but i rich and fluffy chocolate swiss buttercream frosting.

** Apologies for the picture quality, I had to quickly take pictures with my horrible cell phone camera before they were gobbled up**

for the cupcakes...

you'll need:

2 1/4 cups granulated sugar

2 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon of fine salt

1 cup strong brewed coffee

1 cup vegetable oil

8 ounces of sour cream

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

3 large eggs

to make:

Preheat the oven to 350

Line three 12-cup muffin tins with cupcake liners

In a large bowl (or your stand mixer bowl) combine the sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt.

Mix together.

add wet ingredients: coffee, oil, sour cream, vanilla, and eggs.

Beat with an electric mixer or your stand mixer until smooth. This cupcake batter may seem a bit runner than other recipes you've tried, but i promise, if you follow the directions, it will bake perfectly!

Pour an even amount of the batter into each cupcake liner (they should reach about two-thirds full).

Bake for about 16 to 18 minutes. Test a couple with a toothpick and make sure it comes out clean.

Let cool in the tins for 10 minutes.

Remove from tins and let cool completely on a wire rack.

for the frosting...

disclaimer: Swiss Buttercream frosting is not for the faint of heart!! it takes time, patience, and a little bit of skill to pull it off. But trust me when I say that its totally worth it! Its smooth and delicious like all buttercreams, but because of its meringue base, its fluffier and less overpowering. If your frosting breaks, DONT PANIC! Its fixable!! In fact, the batch I made for the cupcakes pictured above, looked like a goopy cottage cheese at one point!

The reason your frosting broke is probably because of one of two reasons: you over whipped, or added the ingredients too fast. This blog post is a wonderful resource for fixing those uh-ohs: http://www.jasonandshawnda.com/foodiebride/archives/7640/ 

That being said...

you'll need:

3/4 cup of granulated sugar

2 teaspoons of fresh lemon juice

pinch of fine salt

4 large egg whites

3 sticks of unsalted butter, each cut into fourths

6 ounces of melted chocolate (i used Ghirardeli)

to make:

Bring a few inches of water to a boil in a saucepan that can hold a heatproof bowl (i used my metal kitchen aid stand mixer's bowl) above the water.

Melt the 6oz of chocolate. (You can do this in the microwave, or with a double boiler, your choice). Let it cool to room temperature while you are continuing the next steps.

Add the sugar, lemon juice, salt and egg whites to the mixing bowl and whisk together by hand. Set the bowl above the boiling water and continue to hand whisk until the mixture is warm and the sugar dissolves completely. Transfer to the stand mixer (or a hand mixer) with a whisk attachment and beat at a medium high speed until cool and the whites hold stiff peaks, about 10 minutes.

Toss in a couple chunks of butter at a time, but make sure they're fully incorporated before you add more. Continue on until all the butter is added, mixing at a medium-high speed. Whisk until the mixture forms a smooth spreadable consistency.

Fold in the now room temperature melted chocolate.

Put the frosting into a pastry bag, and go to town on the cooled cupcakes! Or, just use an angled spatula or knife!

The garnish...

which is entirely optional, but I think is just too cute to resist!

you'll need:

yellow colored white chocolate chips (you can find these at your local craft store)

health bar bits

to make:

Melt the chocolate chips and put in either; a pastry bag with a small tip, or a ziplock with a tiny bit of the corner cut off. 

Lay a sheet of wax paper on a cookie sheet, or any flat surface.

Using the pastry bag as a pencil, squirt out the chocolate in the shape of a giraffe (it doesn't have to be perfect, mine clearly are not)

Move cookie sheet into the fridge, or allow to sit out until cooled and solidified

Peel off the wax paper and place on top of frosted cupcake

Sprinkle with heath bar bits... And EAT!

Enjoy!

One Nightstand

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Alright folks, here's my latest creation: 

So we've had this old fake wood grain and gold nightstand in my bathroom FOREVER. Seriously, this thing might be older than I am. And since it had been in a bathroom and subject to shower steam for at least 10 years - we clearly don't move things around much - the lovely fake wood grain sticker was starting to peel off and look even worse than it did to begin with. So this is my attempt to give this poor little nightstand a new life and a new purpose (living in a bathroom for the sole purpose of hiding tampons is not what this guy was made for).

Exhibit A: The stuff.

For this little project I was able to get away with using only one can of primer: I like Rust-oleum Universal Satin in white (it says its paint and primer in one, but I think it really works best as just a primer). And one can of paint: I used Valspar Perfect Finish Gloss in (what i think is) Indigo Cloth. For whatever reason Valspar doesn't name the colors on their cans (annoying, I know!), but from what I saw online, Indigo Cloth seems to match the color of the lid.

I also used one small jar of Valspar Antiquing Glaze. You really only need the tiniest amount of this stuff, unless of course you're like me and accidentally dump a ton on the garage floor because you were trying to shake it with the lid barely on...

And as for the hardware, I purchased mine from Anthropologie.com

heres the link to the owl: http://www.anthropologie.com/anthro/product/home-hardware/973368.jsp

and heres the link to the twig handles: http://www.anthropologie.com/anthro/product/home-hardware/873174.jsp

Now, I would never spend this much on hardware, as I am broke as a joke. Tons of great options can be found at your local hardware store (especially handles, Anthro doesn't have a whole lot of those to choose from), or even at a local vintage shop, or ebay or etsy. So many options! But I work at Anthropologie, so I was able to use my employee discount - which is nice. I just want you to know there are PLENTY of other knob options out there!

The total cost of this project was around $50. To be fair though, even with my employee discount, over half of that budget was spent on hardware. So this project can be done even cheaper than that!

That being said, heres how I did it:

Step 1:

You're definitely going to want to take out any existing hardware. Now, after you've done this, check and see if the new hardware you bought will fit in the existing holes. If it does, fabulous! Ignore this next step. If it doesn't, you'll need to fill the existing holes with wood filler following the instructions on the packaging, and wait for it to dry. Then sand the filler until its flush with the surface of the furniture. Then drill new hardware holes according to whatever you bought. Thankfully, my new hardware fit perfectly, and I avoided all that.

Next, you'll need to sand the entire thing. You might be able to skip this step depending on the finish. Seeing as how mine was covered in a weird sticker thing, I sanded.

Step 2:

PRIME! Follow the instructions on the can in terms of drying times and weather conditions. 

Step 3:

PAINT! same as the directions in Step 2, but with the other can!

I was kind of nervous after this part because it looked like the color blue you'd put in a little boys room, and that's definitely not what I was going for. But keep going... it gets better!

SPRAY PAINTING/PRIMING TIPS:

SHAKE THE CAN!!!! Its actually really important. Also, always spray paint in a well ventilated area to avoid spray painting unwanted surfaces (such as the side of your house) and to avoid paint fume loopiness!

Step 4:

The purpose of the Antiquing Glaze is to make a piece look older, or to give it more definition. How much or how little you add is really a personal preference situation. I just wanted to add enough to settle in the crevasses and curves on this piece so they would be more noticeable.

Antiquing is really kind of a haphazard process. Obviously, read the instructions on your particular bottle of glaze first. But basically, they're going to tell you to slap some glaze on the piece, wait a certain amount of time, then kind of wipe it off. You'll have to experiment a few times before you get it the way you want it, but thankfully, you can't really mess this stuff up. And if you do, you can wipe it off! I let the glaze settle pretty heavily in the groves, and then I wiped it over every surface and wiped it off in one direction to give sort of a dry brushed look.

Overall, I think the glaze did a good job of making the blue not so ridiculously blue!

And here's the final result!

Crate Coffee Table

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Alright folks, so here's the first project in a hot minute, and I know its on pinterest already, but I've added a few different touches that I think are kinda cool. So here's my version of the craft store crate coffee table:

Step 1: go pick yourself up some crates from the local craft store

Step 2: get some stain. Or in my case, go find a decent looking old one from the garage! I used this one from MixWax ^^^

Step 3: stain the crates according to the instructions on the can of stain

Aaaaaand this is where I failed at taking pictures... So, sorry folks... Also, a helpful tip for all the steps along the way: DRILL PILOT HOLES!!! I know they are more work, but your project will look better in the end. Also, if you use bronze(ish) screws, they match better with dark stains.

Step 4: Set the crates up on their sides with the openings facing out (if this doesn't make sense, look at the pictures of the finished coffee table below, and do that). Screw 3 of the crates together. I used four screws at every connection, and it might have been a bit much. Make sure you screw from the slat side into the thicker side pieces (with the handle cutouts) and not the other way around!

Step 5: Place the 3 assembled crates on top of a piece of MDF or hardboard (I used hardboard). Set the 4th crate in place, and then trace and cut the piece of MDF or hardboard to make the top of the base (it should be approx. 3'x3'). Then cut another piece of the same material to put in between the crates to fill the hole in the middle. Spray paint the two pieces whatever color you want! I chose red because I love warm colors in a living area.

Step 6: Slide the smaller spray painted board in the middle of the three connected crates so it rests on top of the slats. Then screw together the last crate with the spray painted board in the middle. It should now be trapped (but might still move a little)! **Screwing everything together might require another set of hands. Seeing as how these are cheap craft store crates, they are not perfect. Which means some of them are not square, which can require some manipulating to get the top flat and make sure there aren't any gaps on the sides. But trust me, its doable!

Step 7: Cut 2x4s to make a structural base that will go under the large spray painted boards, and the crates. I made a square with mitered corners, then put one cross beam in the middle for extra support. Screw together.

Step 7: Stain the structural base the same color as the crates. Or different if you want! Its yours, do whatever! Painting is an option as well!

Step 8: At this point, you should have three separate pieces: 

1. Your crate structure

2. Your spray painted hardboard base

3. Your 2x4 structural base

Assemble those items together as a sandwich in that order, by screwing down from the inside bottom of the crate structure, through the hardboard, and into the 2x4 base.

Step 9: Flip the table over. Screw in casters to the four corners of the structural base, being careful that you're not putting them where they might hit previously placed screws.

Step 10: Flip it back over, and roll it over to your couch because you are done!

My finished coffee table:

I hope that was helpful, and I apologize again for not having those pictures for the middle steps. I know I learn best just from pictures, so if you have any questions feel free to comment and I'll try to help you out. And trust me, you don't have to have much construction knowledge to put this one together! Just a power drill and some spare time is really all you need!

New Years Resolutions

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Not really apartment/DIY related, but I'm going to post it anyway to hold myself responsible for my resolutions. So here they are:

- do more yoga
- cook more and eat out less
- keep up with this blog
- keep up with my box of beautiful things... Which I suppose needs a little explaining. I'm trying my best to appreciate all of the little things, the important things in life, the beautiful things, if you will. So I've started a box full of index cards. One for each day, where I write down the date, and just one good thing. It could be something I'm thankful for, someone, anything that I did, thought about, saw, whatever. Then on the other side ill draw a picture or a magazine cutout that illustrates the card, and whenever I'm having a bad day, or just need a pick me up, I can look in that box and see all those beautiful things.

I'll post pictures of the cards and the box when I get further along in the process, but for now my resolutions are but words. 2013 is for making them realities. Happy New Year, everyone!