Mid Century Makeover

The Good Son's room was a hot mess. Remember? We had the home computer in there for god knows what reason. But TGS is getting bigger and he needs his own space. So we wanted to move the computer into the living room and give TGS more storage in his room and space to play.

I had gone hunting for the perfect dresser for him when I was pregnant and found a mid century beauty on Craigslist and snapped it up. But then I never turned off the RSS feed so I get daily updates on all the mid century stuff listed from here to St. Louis. And I just happened to find this cute little bookcase from a local resale store. So I packed the kids up, got lost trying to find the place and the stored the bookcase in my garage for a few months.

aw, look at 50 years of dust. you will get another 50 years worth here, little one

It was a little shakey and the back had come loose in the move so I decided to remove the backing panel and make a new one. But not just any new one - a cool, awesome, vintage-y new one. So I ordered a vintage world map from Amazon and Mod Podged that bitch on.

And this is what the bookcase looks like now. Sweet, huh?

I used Mod Podge Hard for furniture and just slapped the coats on. I did 3 coats before I added some concentrated tea to the glue to help give the map that old, yellowed look. I did three more coats of the glue/tea combo before 1 final coat of just glue.

Then I nailed everything together with the help of The Good Daughter. The bookcase is solid now, with no movement. The shelf is more stable too. Overall I am over the fucking moon for this.

Before, all of TGS's toys were stacked on top of the dresser, which is ok in photos, but try and change a 16 month old on that without him knocking all the shit over. Not good. He needed more storage.

 
And just look at TGS's room now. I moved the dresser to the spot of the former computer and put the bookcase under the window. I filled it with all of TGS's toys which get them the hell out of the living room.

Everything is nice and neat. There is a spot for everything and everything is out for easy access.

Look at how awesome it is. There is so much room for more books, my personal favorite. I can't wait until Santa Grammy and Papa help fill this up this Christmas.

I can't believe that I have actually "refinished" some furniture now. Like a fucking adult. I feel so grown up.  

Spiked Pumpkin Tiramisu with Chocolate Pecan Crunch Topping

I'm back on the pumpkin crack again only this time it's a fall reboot to a classic I made last year. I saw a pin for pumpkin tiramisu on Pintrest but quickly lost it. I fucking hate when that happens.

So I thought I would play around with my recipe and see what I could do.

The original wasn't too hard to switch up but it calls for coffee and while I know pumpkin spice coffee is the white girl meth, I wanted this to have a different fall taste. I decided to soak the lady fingers in apple cider and brandy b/c why the hell not.

I also added a crunchy, chocolatey, pecan-y topping just to make it all the better. 

The result was a complex dish where you could taste every flavor. It was sweet but smokey, sharp yet smooth. I think the spiked apple cider really added something to what might be an otherwise boring dish. 

Ingredients:

1/2 cup heavy cream 

2 large eggs, separated 

1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon of granulated sugar 

1 cup mascarpone, room temperature

1/4 cup pumpkin puree

1/2 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice

2 tablespoons brandy

1 cup apple cider

1 7-ounce package dry ladyfingers

For the crumb topping:

6 cinnamon gram crackers, crushed into fine crumbs

1/2 cup chopped pecans

3 tablespoons butter, melted

1/4 bar chocolate for chocolate shavings

  

Directions:
~In a large bowl, beat the egg yolks with the 1/3 cup of sugar until light in color. In another bowl, beat the egg whites until they hold soft peaks. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon of sugar to the whites and beat until they're firm and glossy. In separate bowl, whip the heavy cream until it is firm. In a separate bowl (yes, for separate bowls. I am sorry about the clean up but it will be worth it, I promise!) mix the mascarpone, pumpkin puree and pumpkin pie spice until combined. Using a rubber spatula, fold the whipped cream into the egg yolk mixture, then fold in the pumpkin mascarpone mixture and one-third of the beaten egg whites. Gently fold in the remaining egg whites.

~Pour the apple cider and brandy into a shallow bowl. Quickly dip both sides of half of the ladyfingers in the spiked cider and line the bottom of an 8-by-10 baking dish. Spoon half of the pumpkin mascarpone mixture over the ladyfingers and spread it in a smooth, even layer. Repeat until you have two layers of cookies and cream. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

~To make the crumb topping, combine chopped pecans and crushed gram crackers in a small bowl. Add the melted butter and stir to combine. Before you are ready to serve, top the tiramisu with the crumb topping and chocolate shavings. Cut into squares and enjoy!

recipe by: The Good Wife

Turkey Tom Thanksgiving Advent Calendar Craft ~FREE PRINTABLE~

As a foodie, I love Thanksgiving for all the food and all the wine that you can drink without being judged and the yoga pants that you can safely longue in after you have stuffed yourself.

But I also think it is important holiday for helping us remember just how lucky most of us are and that we have a lot to be thankful. So as a way to count down until Turkey Day and to be mindful of our blessings awesomeness, I have made this Turkey Tom Thanksgiving Advent Calendar.

Simply cut out the feathers and glue them, one for each day until Thanksgiving, onto Turkey Tom. To make it extra special, write one thing you are thankful for on each feather before gluing it on. When Thanksgiving arrives, you will have a beautiful, fat turkey full of everything you are thankful for.

Download your free Thanksgiving Advent Calendar Printable here!

You can also keep track of all things Thanksgiving with my Thanksgiving Pack in my Etsy shop.

I hope you have a wonderful and awesome Thanksgiving! 

Turkey Tom Day 1: