Mint Coffee Table with Gold Feet: A Makeover!

 Change is so good.  Paint is SO great.   Putting a fresh coat of paint on something can change a whole room.  I bought this old black coffee table on craigslist back in September of 2012 for 40 bucks.  I knew I would paint it at some point but was fine with the black for those winter months.  I added glass to the top after I bought it which made it look a bit better, but I just got replacement window glass so it didn’t fit perfectly.  I am so excited about this because the colors turned out just how I wanted.     First I brought the coffee table outside and prepped my work area.

 Matt and I got out our trusty sanders.

We got to work.  Matt used the belt sander and it killed it compared to my softer sander.

But we got the job done! We also found this circular sander which worked really well.

We got very tired on sanding and figured we didn’t need to sand everything down perfectly because we were using a 2 in 1 paint and primer.  Once it was mostly sanded we cleaned off all of the dust and dirt.

The sun was beating down so this pic is washed out a bit, but this is after a double coat on top and a single coat on the bottom.

Once the whole table was painted, I noticed I didn’t reach the back of the legs well.  I thought I would have to turn the table over and paint them upside down.  Then I had the idea to paint them a different color to add a pop!  I had eyed this Martha Stewart Metallic Golden Pearl paint and knew it was perfect!

After taping the legs off I did a couple of coats of the gold paint.

Once the paint was dried I turned the table and brought it back inside!

Don’t they just add a great little bling?

The glass really finished the look and of course needed a few books, a buddha and some yellow roses!

 

If you have a weekend and want to revitalize your living room, repaint your coffee table!!

 

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Goat Cheese,Caramelized Onion and Fig Jam Grilled Cheese

HOLY GRILLED CHEESE! Let’s have some serious real talk right now.  I am officially addicted to Diners, Drive ins and Dives.  I watch it on the reg and always get SO inspired!  Banana bread french toast with bananas foster and ice cream?  French dip with pork, bacon, gruyere? It’s too much.  It leaves me in bed at 10 PM making a grocery list for the next day.  Inspiration comes from many different places… TV, cookbooks, blogs, and restaurants are just a few!  When I thought of making a “grown up” grilled cheese, goat cheese came to mind.  It really is an unsung hero of the cheese world.  It has a flavor that is not as strong as gorgonzola, but more complex than american.  I found this creamy goat cheese and knew it would spread wonderfully on some sourdough.  What else would you pair it with? Caramelized onions…. obvi.  And fig jam?! Why not?  Wow.  I am so excited about this one.  It had sweetness and salt that balanced with the creaminess of the cheese.  Grilled up with butter, this gem will knock your socks off!

Its very simple. Sourdough, butter, goat cheese, onions, fig jam.

Grilled cheese never tasted so good!!

Goat Cheese,Caramelized Onion and Fig Jam Grilled Cheese

Ingredients

  • 2 pieces sourdough bread
  • 1/2 brown onion
  • 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
  • 1/4 - 1/2 cup goat cheese (depending on preference)
  • 2 tablespoons fig jam
  • 2 teaspoons softened butter

Directions

In a skillet over medium heat, heat olive oil. Add onion and cook until caramelized, up to 30 minutes. Take bread and butter one side of each piece. Spread half of the goat cheese on each non buttered side of the bread. Add caramelized onion to one side on top of the cheese, and fig jam to the other side. Assemble sandwich and place on hot skillet. Cook until browned, flip and repeat. Enjoy!

http://littlebitsof.com/2013/05/goat-cheesecaramelized-onion-and-fig-jam-grilled-cheese/

 

 

 

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Roasted Corn and Cheese Dip

Chips and dip.  You know what I’m talking about.

Tortilla chips and queso.

Ruffles and french onion dip.

Pretzels and ranch.

Pita chips and hummus?!

You catch my drift.  Chips and dip just make the world go round.  When a dip is so good that you eat it all and just decide not to have dinner… you know you’ve found a winner.  My mom discovered this dip and made it for a dinner party a couple weeks ago.  Everyone there could not stop talking about “THE DIP”, “OMG THAT DIP”, “WOWWW I CAN’T BELIEVE THAT DIP”.  Yeah it was that good.  She made it with bacon, which is amazing, but I made it for a group that had some vegetarians so I just took out the bacon part.  It is definitely optional though!  I also substituted carmalizing sweet corn for Trader Joe’s delicious roasted corn.  This dip is really just vegetables, greek yogurt and a little cheese… okay its a lot of cheese, but I think it totally can qualify as a meal.  Any who…. It’s Friday so lets make some dip!

First you cook up some peppers, onions, jalepeno, green onions and garlic. Then mix that with your corn.

 

 Then you add your greek yogurt, cheddar and jack cheese and some spices!

Mix it all up!

 Divide into small pans or just use one big one!

 Cover with a tad more cheese….

 Bake for 20-25 minutes until hot and bubbly! Serve with tortillas chips, crackers or anything else that fits your fancy!

 

 

Roasted Corn and Cheese Dip

Ingredients

  • 4 slices thick-cut bacon, chopped (or 1 tablespoon of olive oil for vegetarian)
  • 1 teaspoon olive oil
  • 3 1/2 cups roasted corn (I used frozen roasted corn from Trader Joes)
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon pepper
  • 1/2 sweet onion, choppd
  • 1/2 red pepper, chopped
  • 1 jalapeno, seeded and chopped
  • 4 green onions, sliced
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced or pressed
  • 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
  • 1 (17 ounce) container of 2% Greek yogurt
  • 5 ounces cheddar cheese, freshly grated
  • 5 ounces monterey jack cheese, freshly grated

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

If using bacon, heat a large skillet over medium heat and add bacon. Fry until crispy and all fat is rendered, then remove bacon and let drain on a paper towel. If not using bacon, start here and add 1 Tablespoon of olive oil to a pan over medium heat. Add roasted corn to the skillet, cooking and stirring until warmed through, about 5 minutes. Remove corn and add it to a large bowl. Add olive oil to the skillet, then add onions and red peppers with salt and pepper. Cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add in jalapeno, green onions and garlic, cooking for just 2-3 minutes. Transfer mixture to the bowl, adding in the yogurt, paprika, bacon and 4 ounces of each cheese. Stir until combined then transfer to serving dish. Top with remaining cheese.

Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until cheese is golden on top. Serve immediately with tortilla chips or crackers.

http://littlebitsof.com/2013/05/roasted-corn-and-cheese-dip/

 

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Margarita Cupcakes

Hola Amigos! How was your cinco de mayo? Mine was just wonderful.  I had some friends over and we made tacos, had some tequila and busted open a pinata. Oh and I made these margarita cupcakes.  Matt said they tasted like a key lime pie and that I need to make MORE!  That is always a good sign.  Not only is there tequila in the batter but you also brush some on top of them and add it to the frosting.  They are not overly sweet but the sugary and salty frosting add just the POW they need.  I was pleasantly surprised at how much I like this “festive” cupcake and will be making them again before next year!  Enjoy!

That little bowl has lime juice, lime zest, vanilla extract and tequila!

Make sure your cupcake liners are cute.  This is very important.

Fill those cups!

Bake then brush with te-kill-ya.

Frosting, lime zest and a straw!  So easy to make it look profesh.

 

Margarita Cupcakes

Ingredients

    Cupcakes:
  • 1½ cups all-purpose flour
  • 1½ teaspoons baking powder
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • ½ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 2 eggs, at room temperature
  • Zest and juice of 1½ limes
  • 2 tablespoons tequila
  • ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
  • ½ cup buttermilk
  • To Brush the Cupcakes:
  • 1 to 2 tablespoons tequila
  • For the Tequila-Lime Frosting:
  • 1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 2¾ cups powdered sugar
  • 1 tablespoon lime juice
  • 1 tablespoons tequila
  • Pinch of coarse salt

Directions

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line a standard muffin tin with paper liners; set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt; set aside. In an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Reduce the mixer speed to medium and add the eggs one at at time, mixing thoroughly after each addition. Scrape the sides of the bowl and add the lime zest, lime juice, vanilla extract and tequila. Mix until combined.

Reduce the mixer speed low. Add the dry ingredients in three batches, alternating with the buttermilk in two batches. Mix only until just incorporated. Divide the batter between the muffin cups. Bake for approximately 25 minutes, rotating half way through, until just slightly golden and a toothpick inserted in the middle of the cupcake comes ou8. Allow cupcakes to cool for 5 to 10 minutes, and then remove to a cooling rack. Brush the tops of the cupcakes with the 1 to 2 tablespoons of tequila. Set the cupcakes aside to cool completely before frosting them.

To make the frosting, whip the butter on medium-high speed of an electric mixer using the whisk attachment for 5 minutes. Reduce the speed to medium-low, and gradually add the powdered sugar, mixing and scraping the sides of the bowl until all is incorporated. Give it a mix on medium speed for about 30 seconds. Add the lime juice, tequila and salt mix on medium-high speed until incorporated and fluffy. If the frosting appears a bit too soft, add some additional sugar, one tablespoon at a time until desired consistency is reached. Frost cupcakes and garnish, if desired, with lime zest and a cute straw!

*note: If you choose not to use alcohol, replace with vanilla extract.

Recipe adapted from Brown Eyed Baker

http://littlebitsof.com/2013/05/margarita-cupcakes/

 

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Friday Favorites

Happy Friday friends!  Today like most Fridays I wanted to share with you some laughs, books, desserts and puppies!

Friday Favorite Youtube Clip: *warning there is bad language!***

Friday Favorite Book: The Art of Fielding

Friday Favorite DIY book:  Young House Love

This couple is so cute.  I got this book for my birthday and then found their blog and absolutely love it! Check it out > http://www.younghouselove.com/

Friday Favorite dessert: CPK’s Butter Cake. I will try to recreate this!

Friday Favorite Cinco De Mayo Puppy! and 15 other pups! http://www.buzzfeed.com/sauza/16-puppies-who-are-definitely-ready-for-cinco-de-mayo

These pups who are ready to be the life of the party:

Have a great Cinco De Mayo weekend!!

 

 

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Olive Oil Tortillas

So I finally did it.  Tortillas are one of those things that taste so much better when they are fresh.  I know I love when restaurants make them fresh but it was always one of those things I thought was best to leave to the experts.  Traditional flour tortillas are made with lard but I did not have that on hand and knew olive oil was probably a bit healthier.  The mix of all purpose and wheat flour give the tortillas a nice flavor and a nice dollop of guacamole doesn’t hurt either!  I had to find something to roll out this weekend because I got a beautiful rolling pin for my birthday from my bestie Lindsey from Fundamentally Wild! These are delicious fresh but you can keep them in an air tight container/ bag and heat them up before eating as well.  You might read this and think “that seems like too much work, i’ll just go get some at the store!”.  Please don’t do that.  Make these and you will impress yourself!

First mix together your dry ingredients then throw in some olive oil.

Then mix in warm water and let the dough sit for about 15 minutes.

Take one big ball and turn it into about 12 little balls.

Flour a cutting board.

Roll out each ball into a very thin disc.

 Once your pan is nice and hot, throw your disc on and watch it bubble up.

 Once you flip it the tortilla with fill with air!  Just poke it with a fork and make sure the other side cooks.

 Voila! Now you have made tortillas.

 Now get some guac…

 Oh yes!

 

Olive Oil Tortillas

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 6 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1/2 cup warm water

Directions

Mix both the flours, salt, baking powder well in a bowl. Add olive oil and stir to combine. Gradually add required warm water and knead to a smooth dough. You may need to add a bit more warm water, you want the dough to be smooth, not to sticky and not to tight. You can rest the dough for 15 minutes. Divide into 10 or 12 equal sized balls.

Roll into thin discs, dust when ever needed with all purpose flour. Heat a pan and toast the rolled tortillas on both sides in medium flame until slight golden dots starts to appear. It should be about 1 minutes on the first side and 30 seconds on the other time. Just wait for those golden dots!

http://littlebitsof.com/2013/04/olive-oil-tortillas/

 

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Dark and Stormy

I am officially 24!  Not that I was ever unofficially 24… anyways, my birthday was on Tuesday!  I love birthdays. Not only because everyone showers you with love and presents… okay I guess thats basically why.  But also because it is an excuse to go out to dinner and indulge a bit.  Matt and I went to Tommy Bahama in Laguna Beach and had a wonderful night!  I started off with a Mai Tai and Matt got a Dark and Stormy.  I had one sip of his drink and was blown away.  I’m more of a beer and wine kinda gal but when I try a great cocktail it’s hard to beat.  After our macadamia nut encrusted goat cheese appetizer I decided to get one for myself and savored every sip.  The next day I thought it was appropriate to run right to the store after work and get my hands on some ginger beer, dark rum and limes.  A simple cocktail and my new favorite!  Try it for yourself!

Squeeze of lime.

Ginger beer and dark rum.

Fun striped straws are necessary.

Oh and you see that cutting board?  I got it for my birthday! Finally I have a Boos to call my own!!

 

Dark and Stormy

Ingredients

  • 1 cup of ice
  • 1/4 of a lime
  • 4 oz. ginger beer
  • 1-2 oz. dark rum

Directions

In a glass add 1 cup of ice. Squeeze lime over ice then drop the wedge in as well. Add ginger beer to glass then top with dark rum. Mix and enjoy!

http://littlebitsof.com/2013/04/dark-and-stormy/

 

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Cinnamon-Sugar Croutons

I failed making granola this weekend.  I burnt it and I burnt it bad.  I was going to make granola and tell you how much I love it on greek yogurt.  But alas that blog post is now burnt along with those helpless oats.  But everything happens for a reason! Maybe that is why I thought of these cinnamon sugar croutons.  I don’t know about you but I can’t eat yogurt without some crunch on it.  This goes for frozen yogurt too… you gotta fill about half your cup with sprinkles and candy for the proper crunch factor.  Anyways… remember cinnamon sugar toast?  When your mom would toast u some beautiful white bread and cover it with butter then cinnamon sugar?  Those were the days.  Now we have to be more responsible.  Now we have to make cinnamon sugar croutons and have a few on top of our super healthy 0% greek yogurt.  I added these to Chobani’s Strawberry greek yogurt and it was SO GOOD!  I also added some berries and it felt like I was eating dessert!   Another way I made this a bit healthier was instead of coating them in butter I just sprayed them with butter flavored cooking spray. Another simple and delicious addition to a sometimes boring routine of yogurt.

Bread, cooking spray and cinnamon-sugar.

I cut my loaf into slices then each slice into 12 little cubes!

Lay the cubes on a cookie sheet and spray with cooking spray.

Then toss with cinnamon sugar and bake for 17 minutes.

And thats it! I added mine to some strawberry greek yogurt but you can add them to anything or eat plain!

 

 

Cinnamon-Sugar Croutons

Ingredients

  • 1 loaf french bread
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 2 teaspoons cinnamon
  • butter flavored cooking spray

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut loaf into small cubes and place on cookie sheet. Spray bread with cooking spray, toss and spray again. In a small bowl mix sugar and cinnamon. Slowly pour cinnamon sugar mixture onto bread until each piece is coated. Bake for 15-17 minutes or until crispy.

http://littlebitsof.com/2013/04/cinnamon-sugar-croutons/

 

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Whole Wheat, Espresso & White Chocolate Chip Scones

So my sister was in town this weekend and it was so wonderful.  I love when she visits because our family gets together and it feels just like old times.  Its basically an excuse to sit on our moms lap, lounge around and chat all day.  My parents had a big dinner party on Saturday night and she made the most amazing food!  Something about delicious food, good friends and great family makes me the happiest person.  I am constantly thinking about what meals would be good for dinner parties.  You have to think of things you can make ahead of time and can be in the oven while your guests arrive.  The same goes for any meal.  Because my sister was in town I wanted to whip something fun up to have with breakfast and thought scones would be perfect.  This was one of those times when I started thinking breakfast when I woke up  and not the day before like I should have.  So I just thought of what I had on hand.  I knew I had little to-go packets of instant coffee and also a big bag of white chocolate chips.  I also had some whole wheat flour and thought it might help make this treat not too horrible for us.  Don’t think about the fact that this is the first step….

Butter gets worked into your dry ingredients.

I do not have a pastry cutter so I used my hands!  They are great tools.

Then added these white chips.

Then slowly added in an egg, milk & vanilla mixture to make this dough.

Press down into a disc and cut into 8 slices.

Set on some parchment paper.

Bake for 14 minutes!

Drizzle with glaze.

Enjoy these warm with some coffee.

Eat every. last. crumb.

 

Whole Wheat, Espresso & White Chocolate Chip Scones

Ingredients

    scones:
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 1 egg
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 cup whole wheat flour
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 tablespoon + 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon espresso powder or instant coffee
  • 6 tablespoons cold butter
  • 3/4 cup white chocolate chips
  • glaze:
  • 1/2 cup powdered sugar
  • 2 teaspoons hot water
  • 1/2 teaspoon espresso powder

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

In a small bowl, whisk together the milk, egg and vanilla extract. Set aside.

In a large bowl, combine the dry ingredients (flour through espresso). Cut in the butter with a pastry cutter, or if you don't have one, your fingers. The dough will resemble coarse crumbs. Stir in the chocolate chips.

Slowly add 3/4 of the egg mixture to the dry mixture and stir gently to combine. Continue adding egg mixture, a tablespoon at a time, just until the dough holds together. If you add too much liquid, the result will be more like muffins than scones. I used all but a tablespoon or two of the liquid. Use picture above for reference.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Pat it into a 10″ circle, about 1″ thick. Cut out 8 equal sized pie wedges and place them on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Bake for 14 – 16 minutes or until nicely browned. Let cool on a cooling rack.

Meanwhile, prepare the glaze by mixing all the ingredients together. Add more water or sugar to make it thinner or thicker. Drizzle the glaze on scones and enjoy!

Recipe adapted from Dinners, Dishes & Desserts

http://littlebitsof.com/2013/04/whole-wheat-espresso-white-chocolate-chip-scones/

 

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