Thrift score!

I love anything toile and since I'm an addmited dish-aholic this was a great find! I just redecorated my master bedroom in cream, pink and black with a bit of silver/gray as an accent. I will post pics of the entire room in the future, but this lovely tea set is in there now.

here is the little creamer, I just love the little rooster on it.

The whole thing was only $18, alot for a thrift store find but I think it was very worth it. Usually when I am out junking my rule of thumb is anything under $10 is fair game, so this was an expensive purchase for me. I am still glad I bought it though! Want to come over for a tea party? :)

Cinnamon connoisseur

I will admit that out of all the flavors out there cinnamon is one of my favorites. I am always trying new recipes for rolls and bread, even french toast. This was one that i tried recently and thought I should share because it worked so well! I found it here CDK cinnamon rolls My whole family loved them and has asked for me to make them over and over.....**WARNING** if you make these, you may not be able to stop eating them! Sometimes I think I might as well just tape them to my butt.

I will post the recipe below, there is a mistake on the CDK site...the original recipe forgets something.

Ingredients:
-----DOUGH-----
1 cup Milk
1 package (1/4-oz) active dry yeast
1/3 cup sugar PLUS
1 teaspoon sugar
1/4 cup Warm water
4 tablespoons Butter -- melted
1 1/2 teaspoon Salt
2 1/2 cups cups all-purpose flour (more as needed)
-----FILLING-----
4 tablespoons Butter -- at room temperature
1/2 cup Brown sugar
1 tablespoon Ground cinnamon
-----POWDERED SUGAR GLAZE-----
1/2 cup Powdered sugar
4 tablespoons Margarine -- melted
1 teaspoon Vanilla extract

 

Directions:

Make the dough: In a saucepan, bring the milk just to the boiling point. Remove from the heat and let cool. 

In a large bowl, stir the yeast and 1 teaspoon of the sugar into the warm water and let it stand for 5 minutes. 

Stir in the cooled milk, melted butter salt and 1 cup of flour. Beat this with a spoon or an electric mixer until smooth. 

Gradually stir in 1 1/2 cups more flour and 1/3 cup sugar, keeping the dough smooth. If the dough is still moist, stir in more flour, 1 tablespoon at a time, to make a soft dough. Cover with a dry cloth and let rise in a warm place until the dough doubles in bulk, about 1 hour. Punch down and divide in half. 

Fill and bake the rolls: Grease and flour two large baking sheets. On a lightly oiled board, with a lightly floured rolling pin, roll out and stretch one piece of dough to make a 12-by-8- inch rectangle. 

Spread half the soft butter over the top of the dough. Sprinkle with half the brown sugar and cinnamon. 

Beginning on a long side, roll up tightly, jelly-roll fashion. Repeat with the remaining dough, butter, brown sugar and cinnamon. Cut the dough into 2-inch slices and place on the baking sheets. Cover and let rise until doubled in bulk, about 45 minutes. 

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Bake the rolls for 12 to 15 minutes or until golden brown. 

Glaze the rolls: In a small bowl beat all the glaze ingredients until creamy and smooth. Coat the rolls with the glaze immediately after taking them out of the oven. Allow the rolls to cool on a wire rack.

Dining room buffet

Ok...something you should know about me, I am cheap thrifty! I mean really thrifty. I like to find a bargain and love second hand and consignment store shopping, getting something special and making it better with a bit of elbow grease.  Below is a photo of a buffet i found at one of the local thrifts here, I think I paid $60 for it.

Here it is in the store...

It was beautifully made, dovetail drawers and I'm sure its at least 100 years old. Scratched up pretty badly though and worn. I painted it black. I love black and think it is such a grounding color. I have a little black in almost every room.

the drawer fronts were painted with gold then after crackle medium was added I painted black over top. Then added a few ivy leaves in a matching gold. The accessories on top of it change frequently here are a few other things that have made an appearance on top...

The china was a set that I recently found on EBAY!  I am a bit of a dish-aholic and I love it! I cannot wait to set a table with it. The candlestick was another thrift find and the table runner was a Pier One clearance item. The footed bowl and lacy little teapot were at the Christmas Tree Shop. I love that store! 

Bentos!...well...kinda

Ok, I have a weakness for cute food.  Well, cute anything really. Hey! I'm a girl. I wanted to share these, they are a little something that I put together to make my kidlets feel special when they open their lunch boxes at school. They are my 'Americanized' version of the Chinese Bento.  Nothing wrong with the Chinese version but I am doubtful I could get my kids to eat seaweed or cold rice. Anyway, hope you get some ideas yourself for making some special lunch treats!

I do try to keep the contents rather healthy and shhh...its my secret weapon! If its cute...they will eat it! Even if it IS good for them!

I have to aplogize for photos that are only mediocre...I took these with my phone, but do have plans to get a good camera soon.

Sometimes I add cute little toys, or special food picks that i ordered from Japan. Some have pandas, some have cherries or rabbits. You can buy all sorts. - I like to embellish. I am sure I will post more pics of my bentos in the future.