Sugar Cookies for Christmas

So these next couple of posts are probably going to be about Christmas and cookies. Mostly because I had a lot of fun this year and want you all to see it...lol

So it didn't start to feel like Christmas until almost a week ago. Maybe its because I work retail and everyone in retail kinda detests Christmas, since we listen to the exact same Christmas song over and over again for 8 hrs!

We had our annual Cookie Making Day. It was a lot of fun as usual. Filled with flour butter, eggs and sugar! I made around 11 dozen cookies, my sister made 11 dozen cookies, my other sister made 4 dozen plus some souffles, and my two friends came over and they made around 2 dozen each. So there was tons of everything everywhere.

Sam and I went out and bought some Christmas tins and then I wrote on them with Sharpie Paint Pens, to add a personal touch.

Christmas Tin opened to reveal a list of what cookies are inside the tin.

A hand written To and From on the front of the tin.

Sugar Cookies
   from All Recipes

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups butter, softened
• 2 cups white sugar
• 4 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 5 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt

Directions

1. In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Stir in the flour, baking powder, and salt. Cover, and chill dough for at least one hour (or overnight).
2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Roll out dough on floured surface 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick. Cut into shapes with any cookie cutter. Place cookies 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheets.
3. Bake 6 to 8 minutes in preheated oven. Cool completely.               

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Chicken Addiction....Again!

It seems as though every winter I fall into the same addictions; wearing slacks around the house, letting my room get dirty, wanting sweets and the strange desire to own chickens. Well maybe addiction is too strong of a word. I know, owning chickens, such a strange thing for someone in the burbs, right! Last year...or maybe two years ago...no it was last winter, I started to really want chickens. I think I am going to have to blame my internship on the Organic farm. On the Farm I incubated chickens and it was AMAZING. Read about it HERE. Well It has started again. I have been looking up ideas on coops and what types of chickens are better for the suburbs. It is really awful.

Click HERE to see Heather's Blog and her article and their coop.

I found this awesome blog where a lady (actually her husband) built their own coop, and it looks BEAUTIFUL. It wasn't cheap, but when you look at it, you will want chickens too! Also Heather has the plans to build this beautiful coop for sale on her blog for only $39!!! Really the only thing that stops me is that its winter and that means its CRAZY COLD! I am too afraid for the chickens. Also I am so busy with school and work. I don't know if I could find the time to take care of them and I don't want to pass that chore to my mom...I try to be a good son.

These are the chickens from the farm I interned on.

Here are some other pics of coops that I found on pinterest if you want to see them

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The Finished Planter

So here is the finished project! I hope you all like it. I think it turned out pretty good myself. Next year, when its not so cold and rainy I will probably do another coat. however I think it looks pretty hot as it is now! You can see both of them, the natural and the painted one. I have the instructions of how I made them HERE...it is a photo step by step instuctional. Plus it was virtually FREE!

Pallets = FREE

Screws = FREE

Paint (optional) = $15

I should probably mention that the paint that I used is an exterior barn paint that I got at Lowes. I used a barn paint because the wood is really rough and I thought it seems more appropriate. In the spring I will make two more and paint the second one I made this time around. 

But all in all I think they turned out super awesome! Even my Dad said he thought they looked great, and if  you knew my dad, a compliment from him means that he was really impressed!

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Pallets with a Purpose

I have recently had this infatuation with re-purposing pallets. Not because I have millions of them laying around my house. Honestly my parents would kill me if I had one laying around! lol. But because its just neat. Pallets are a super easy resource to come by and they are often times cheap or free; and who can beat free! I was able to swipe a few from my job, but if you can't do that, find a store near by that gets in large shipments and see if you can buy or have the unwanted pallets. Most of the time they are willing to oblige. Make sure to ask before taking any pallets, as that often companies send the used pallets back for a cash deposit, and its stealing if you don't. For this project I am making Planter Boxes for my Earth Boxes. Earth Boxes are not the most beautiful thing to see at your house. They are also unsturdy, and tend to fall over when tomato plants get tall and heavy. All in all I two boxes (which turned out pretty AWESOME!) each taking about 3hrs to make and 1 pallet that I deconstructed.

I drew up a REALLY quick plan of what I wanted the boxes to look like when I was all said and done. The dimensions were_____________

Okay, So here we go. Obviously safety is our #1 goal. So be sure to have a pair of safety goggles on. We have to make sure we are safe since we will be using saws, drills and such. Glass eyeballs are not a good thing to have!

Starting off you will need to deconstruct the pallet of your choice. This can be challenging since the nails they use makes you wonder if these are supposed to be deconstructed. They made them like they weren't supposed to be! WHAT!?! Here I have all the pieces that I will be using. With the 3 really study "legs" of the pallet, cut those into  2 - 31" legs and 2 - 16" legs. as seen in the picture on the right.

With the slats from the top and bottom of the pallet, cut them into 11.5" section. These will be used as the sides of our box.

Following the picture on the left. Place the legs in a rectangle, with the smaller of the legs on the inside and the larger legs on the outside. Next, nail them together. I used 3" wood nails. Sorry I don't have a picture of them. I threw the box away! :( Repeat this two times so as to make a top and bottom "lid" (pictures on right)

Tip to top section of your box onto its side and align the 11.5" planks up against the top. So that they are flush with the outside edge... This part is kinda like a jigsaw puzzle, because you'll need to select the boards that fit best. With mine I didn't need to do any extra cutting to make them fit. Maybe I was lucky... :-) Screw the tops of the boards in with two screws per board.

Now You will need attach the bottom part. The inside of the planks should be 6.5" long; as seen in the 1st picture. You will need to keep measuring this over and over and over again as you screw your boards in, because they will shift. continue screwing 2 screws into each board.

For a majority of the project I was using 2" Phillips Wood screws. I did find some problems with the screws stripping. I believe its because the pallets are made from hard oaks and other hard woods. So if you can find some screws that are meant for hard wood use...DO IT! I was trying to make this for free, and I had these laying around.

Now flip it over and do the exact same this to the rest of the sides of the box. I did the two longer sections first and saved the smaller sections for last. That is up to you. It was a personal preference for me.

Now for the finishing effects. Just to give it a more polished look I screwed some planks onto the top. Mine were 2 inches longer than the box to give it a small overhang....and VIOLA we are done!

So I made two of them and will make two more, since I have four earth boxes. You can see one of the earth boxes in the far one. Now I am going to paint them white to match the house. However I really like them as is. It gives them a really great rustic look, and then  you can still see that they were made from pallets! If you were to leave them as is, make sure to coat them with a wood varnish so that they stay looking fresher longer. No point in making your hard earned work rot! 

Well I hope you all enjoyed this little tutorial, Feel free to leave any questions you might have for me. I think these boxes turned out great and surprisingly didn't take long at all to make. I'll put pictures up of them once they are painted, but it is still too cold to be painting now :(

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Thrifty Vanilla Bean Extract

Tiss the season for family, friends, baking and food. And Christmas would just not be the same without some home-made cookies. And cookies would just not be cookies without some good old vanilla! We are using vanilla constantly this time of year and with the price of vanilla as it is now days, I decided to take matters into my own hands.

Orange Juice Container

   As I was talking to my mother, we some how ventured onto the subject of making vanilla extract. What a genius idea! Doing some research into it, I found out how easy it was and how economical it was to make such an extravagant ingredient. Here is the recipe:

Split the Beans Down the Center

3 Vanilla Beans  (split down the center)
1 cup(8oz) Vodka (70-80 proof)

1 Glass Jar with Tight Lid

Add Vodka to Jars

Directions:

1 Use a sharp paring knife to cut lengthwise down each vanilla bean, splitting them in half, and leaving an inch at the end connected.
2 Put vanilla beans in a glass jar or bottle with a tight fitting lid (I used a cute little orange juice jar). Cover completely with the vodka.
3 Give the bottle a good shake every once in a while. Store in a dark, cool place for 2 months or longer.
This stuff will lasts for years.  As you use it, keep refilling with vodka every once in a while, just remember to give it a good shake.

Trader Joe's Vanilla Beans $2.49

   But wait there is more! If you have any left over vanilla beans, stick them into a jar of white granulated sugar. This is a great way to add an awesome vanilla flavor to your baking...a double whammy! 






I found the vanilla beans at Trader Joe's, they were super cheap. They were being sold 2 for $2.49. Since the recipe called for three beans I broke down the prices for everything. If you are unfortunate enough not to have a Trader Joe's in your neck of the woods, here is a website that has some beans for sale.

                                           $1.25(per bean) x 3 beans   = $3.74

    8oz Vodka = $3.38

    Total Price = $7.12

Great Gift Idea

I did a online comparison of prices and I found an 8oz Madagascar Bourbon vanilla extract for $12.99 + shipping! For just one bottle that is a savings of over $5.87! Plus you can keep topping off the bottle you made to keep the supply going! Who would have known that making delicious vanilla extract could be so easy and fun!

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So This is Christmas

"So this is Christmas and what have done?" Ok so maybe this is a song and not a great way to start a blog. But really, how has your Christmas been. For me it has gone very fast! I am still working at the garden center, and really love it. I promise I haven't forgotten about you all. I was, for a moment, going to delete my blog; but then I showed it to a friend and thought I should still keep it. The people who are there are so real and I love it! It has been a little slower than in the spring, but surprisingly busier. We have been making wreaths, baskets, and grave-blankets. I really enjoy making them, and am very good at it. Mine are usually the first ones to be sold. There are pictures of some of the ones that I made. Sam and I work together quite frequently. We work very well together, and have lots of fun acting silly and singing Christmas songs. Sam and I are planting bulbs for forcing (without our bosses knowledge.)...shhhh don't tell. I will post something on them when I get a chance.

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My New Career Adveture

I know that it has been a long time since I have updated the blog. This past quarter threw me for a loop! I am now just getting back on tract! But I did get all A's in my classes! Yay for me. This quarter is so much easier than last (anything would be easier in comparison.). Its a good thing too. Why, you may ask. Because, i got a new job. Not just any new job! A new job at a garden center. It is a really awesome place too. I kinda float around, either at the register or in the green house. I like it this way, because I can still experience life in the greenhouse with the plants, but also with the customers. A good medium for me. Plus I get a discount! I like the sound of that. They have me working a lot here, I don't mind though. Since school isn't so hard, it gives me a chance to get some extra cash so that I can pay for the next couple of quarters. I also get the chance to rescue plants that would end up in the trash, bring them back to life, and plant them in my yard! Fun. So that is where I stand. I am actually writing this at school (shows you how much extra time I have), and all I can think about is going outside to be in my yard...I need to get pics before all the tulips are done blooming.

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