14 Days of Love: Day 6

 
 
It's Strawberry Milkshake Day!  I have been searching and searching for a great milkshake/soda fountain glass for a while now and wouldn't you know it, when I stopped in at Crate and Barrel to check out their stock, they had four, yes four, left.  Destiny.  I picked those puppies up along with some striped paper straws and viola!  The perfect setup for a Day 6 surprise!

 
 

 Strawberry Milkshakes

(Makes 4)

 

3 cups frozen strawberries

2 cups milk (if you want to really go for it, use whole milk, get it girl...)

2 cups strawberry ice cream

2 cups vanilla ice cream

1 tablespoon vanilla

 

Directions:

Throw everything in your blender where the softest ingredients are on the bottom and hit the liquefy button.  I just blew your mind, huh?

 

Note: Make sure you put your liquids and soft ingredients in first or you'll be jamming a wooden spoon into your mixer for 5 minutes trying to get everything to turn milkshakey.

 

And really what milkshake would be complete without whipped cream?  I'm a big believer in making my own so all you need to do is put some heavy whipping cream in a bowl and whip it up with a hand or stand mixer.  If you don't have either and need a good forearm workout, you can always use a wire whisk.  I myself find any excuse to use my Kitchenaid, even if that means putting a tiny amount of cream in the bowl.  I plan on being buried with that beautiful thing so I try to show it how much I appreciate it as often as I can. 

Be careful not to over mix your cream. Keep an eye on it.  Once it starts to stiffen up, it will only be a few seconds before it's ready.

 

 



 



14 Days of Love: Days 4 and 5

Well, this is what I had planned for day 4...

I set up a 60 minute massage for the hubs and bought him a gift card {that included the tip, I'm full service}

and then this happened...

 

 

Snowmageddon 2014. 

We're supposed to get 10 inches.  Message Envy called and said they were closing at noon.

So, what do you do when life gives you lemons?  Squeeze them over some vodka soda...

do a snow day dance...

watch the snow fall...

cuddle up with your Minions...

 

and switch day 4 and 5.

Day 5 is complete with Runner Runner from the Redbox. {Duh, you cannot have any days of love without my first true love Justin Timberlake} and all our favorite movie treats.  Including a bottle of Crush, you know, because I have a "crush" on my husband. Hehehe.  I crack myself up!  And no, I didn't make that up.  Like any good blogger, I stole reused it.

  Caught a little person trying to steal the loot.

 

Here's to being snowed in with my favorite boys: Grant, Everett and of course, Justin.

14 Days of Love: Day 3

Nothing says love like Hostess Donettes.  Am I right, or am I right?  February 3rd brought a big ole' bucket of chocolate and powdered goodness.

14 Days of Love: Day 2

Heart Cinnabon Rolls

 

1 (1 pound) loaf of frozen white bread dough, thawed in the refrigerator

3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

1 cup unsalted butter, softened and divided

1/2 cup confectioners' sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla paste

 

1. Spray baking pan (I use a small casserole dish but 9x13 will do) with nonstick cooking spray.

2. On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough into a 7x15-inch rectangle. 

 3. In a small bowl, combine brown sugar and cinnamon; set aside.  Spread 1/2 cup butter over dough, and sprinkle evenly with sugar mixture.

Roll dough from each end towards the middle making the top of a heart shape.

Cut roll into 10 slices and place the cut side up.

{If you have time, you can let your rolls rise for an hour in room temperature, but really, who has that kind of time?  Not me so just throw those babies in the oven}

If you choose to let your dough rise, you will preheat your oven in about 15 minutes.  If not, preheat your oven with step 1.

This would be Vanilla Bean Paste
I am my beloved and my beloved is mine...

4. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until lightly browned.

5. While rolls are baking, in a medium bowl, combine remaining 1/2 cup butter, confectioners' sugar, cream cheese and vanilla paste.  Beat at medium speed until icing is fluffy. 

6. Top the warm rolls with icing.  Serve warm.

How we eat every.single.meal.

Happy Day 2!

 

 



14 Days of Love: Day 1

Have you even fallen in love with a complete stranger's blog?  No, that's only me?  Oh well, I'm totally guilty of being obsessed with the Pink Pistachio and her 14 Days of Love {click here to see them}.  Her idea is to switch off days February 1-14 with her "husby" and do something sweet each day, but let's get real, Grant ain't got time (or creativity) for that, so I had to go solo on this one.

Day 1: Fondue Day

It started off a little like this...

Cheese Fondue

1 tsp. minced garlic

1/2 cup dry white wine

1 tsp. lemon juice

2 cups Swiss cheese, shredded

2 cups Gruyere cheese, shredded

1/2 tsp. dry mustard

Pinch nutmeg

 

In a saucepan over medium-high heat, simmer the garlic, wine, and lemon juice.  Reduce the heat to medium-low, add the cheeses, and blend well until melted.  Add mustard and nutmeg.  Keep warm with fondue pot.

Caution: Do not dump the extra cheese down the drain.  You will end up with your husband fishing a sponge-looking hunk of cheese out of the disposal...not romantic.

Flaming Turtle Fondue

12 ounces milk chocolate (chips or finely chopped)

2 tbsp. vegetable oil

2 tbsp. heavy cream

1/4 cup caramel ice cream topping

2 tbsp. rum

3 tbsp. pecans, chopped

 

You can either melt the chocolate, oil and heavy cream in a double boiler on top of simmering water and mix until creamy or in a microwaveable bowl cooked in 15 second intervals and stirred until melted.

Pour melted chocolate into a warm fondue pot.

Pour the caramel into the center of the chocolate mixture. Do not stir.

Add the rum to the pot and ignite carefully using a lighter. 

Allow the flame to burn out and stir gently to combine.

Sprinkle with pecans.

Keep fondue warm over low heat.

Because no celebration is complete without the champs.

Since we are veggies around here, we added green apples {not pictured}, carrots, tomatoes, broccoli and Archer Farms bread.  My favorite bread is Target bread.  No joke. 

 Time for dessert!!

 I served the chocolate with pound cake, mini brownies, pineapple and strawberries.

Extreme Desk Makeover

Meet Old Yeller.  She looks sad and lonely, huh?  It could be because she is my mom's old desk.  When I was little it had a permanent place in the corner of our basement where it sat for about 30 years.  That is until I took her in and gave her a little love.
All it took was my husband sanding off those gross brown stains, a few coats of Behr's Sliced Cucumber paint with a little primer in it and some knobs I found on sale at Hobby Lobby.  I used both a roller for the flat parts and a brush for the legs for the paint.  
Weekend Job=Complete.

Before:

 

After: