Wedding Planning is SO HARD!

Money Talks, So Does a Clean House

Date Night: Paint Your Own Pottery

Product Review: Cupcake Liners aka. How to Make Cupcakes in a Brownie Pan

Today, I really wanted to share with you how to make cupcakes just taste delicious and come out round & fluffy on top. But then I realized I didn't have a cupcake pan! Luckily, California Kitchenware had sent me this set of silicone cupcake molds to use and review and I was willing to take a chance and try them without a standard pan. Disclosure: I got this product as part of an advertorial.

So, only 9 actually fit in my brownie pan, which wasn't a big deal, but I was already nervous. I half expected my cupcakes to turn out like that internet picture of the biggest cupcake fail of all time.

But that was a risk I was willing to take. So I set my oven to 350*, whipped up a standard cake mix per box directions, filled each mold about 3/4 full, and popped them in the oven. I turned the oven temp down to 325* when I put them in, because I had heard over on Pinterest that if you do that, they'll be lovely and round on top. And then they baked for 25 minutes and I waited and freaked out that they would look awful.

When my timer rang, they made their appearance and I couldn't have been more pleased. Most of them turned out a little warped, due to being on the edge of the brownie pan, but they were round on top and amazing. 

Taking them out of the molds was a breeze. I just stuck the tip of my (clean!) finger slightly in the side, slowly turned the cupcake around, and it practically fell right out. I did NOT grease/spray the molds prior to filling, so this was a pleasant surprise. 

I let them cool for about 10 minutes before tasting them, they ended up perfectly done. After cooling completely they got a little makeover from my favorite frosting recipe and then quickly devoured by Nick & myself.

I really loved these cupcake molds and have already suggested them to a few friends who saw my instagram post while I was making them. They're ideal for use up to 500*F in the oven, or can be used in the microwave & freezer. And as I've proved, you don't need a cupcake pan to use them as they stand really well on their own!

Want them? You can get them on Amazon, available for just $7.99 in both multicolor and white  {these are referral links} and if you try them out, let me know! These are definitely a great value with the price and the reusable longevity.

Have you ever had to just improvise in the kitchen? Or do you have a major blunder to share because your improvisation didn't turn out? Let me know in the comments below!

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

Product Review: Nut Milk Bag & How to Make Almond Milk

Hey, so today I want to share a sexy, new recipe with y'all (not mine, someone else's) and give you a review of a cool new product I got to try.

So, let me just start with a small disclosure, Zimtal sent me this nut milk bag, free of charge, in order to try it for this review, however I wasn't paid for this post and all opinions expressed are my own. I actually used so little effort that I didn't even search for a recipe to use, I follow Nom Nom Paleo on Facebook and shortly after they contacted me to do the review, this recipe for Vanilla Almond Milk showed up on my feed and has been sitting as an open tab in my browser since then.
Also, please note that many of the links in this post are affiliate links, so I get a tiny kickback from the website if you buy using the link.

So to start you have to get some raw almonds and then soak those babies for awhile, some nuts don't need to be soaked before making milk, but most do. I picked up a small bag of raw almonds at my local Sprouts, but the one I linked to has great reviews and a way better price, so that's likely how I'll get mine next time. Anyway, I soaked my almonds overnight, about 20 hours. Based on various different websites you can soak them for 8-12 hours with the limit being not more than 24. So I made it fit into my schedule to get them prepped around noon Sunday and then Monday morning I made my milk before walking the dog. Easy peasy. Here's my almonds before straining them. 

Share the Love - Blogs I Read

Hey, so it's FRIDAY! And instead of sharing with you Rebecca Black's hit single, I'm going to do probably my favorite thing ever. (Just so we're clear, I'll never share that song. I promise.) I'm going to share with you a couple of the things I've been reading up this week, basically just some of my favorite blog posts from elsewhere on the internet or articles I loved.

So, the other day, when I was at the bookstore wasting time instead of getting project supplies, I came across these cool photo album type things that were actually recipe books, each sleeve in the album was made to fit a 4x6 recipe card, they included dividers for food/meal types and the covers were pretty. And they cost more than I wanted to spend. So I came across this blog post by The Idea Room and I'm excited to just MAKE my own recipe book. Using the printables found in that blog post, plus some binder pages for photos from Hobby Lobby, this is going to be my first project after the move. I'll share a photo or two after I'm finished.

On Wednesday, I hadn't had a plan for lunch so while flipping through Pinterest I found this recipe for cauliflower rice and made it right away. Of course, Nick had a sassy anti-vegetable comment for it, but it was the best thing I ate this week.

And I'm an online "window shopper" for just about 75% of my internet time. This week, I found these ADORABLE yoga pants that I pretty much NEED to have. There are tons of different fabric choices on their site and I can't wait to try out the yoga wear and dresses.

Also, if you haven't seen this video of a little dog basically owning his two bigger, brother dogs, you need to. It's one thing to train your pets to wait for treats. It's completely another to have the dog train you. The video is on facebook, but it should be public so you hopefully won't have to log in to view it if you don't use facebook.

And if you DO use facebook, go follow me! Everything Isn't Normal on Facebook

Did you find anything fun on the internet this week? Share with me! I love wasting my time on the interwebs.

Aromatic Room & Linen Spray: A Tutorial!

So, as promised yesterday, I have gathered you here today for a tutorial of awesomeness. However, when I finally went back to town for materials, I actually couldn't find what I was looking for anywhere in town. Thanks specialty stores for not carrying anything. You're awesome. So I'm instead doing a tutorial I was going to do next week. You're welcome.

{{Also, there are some links in this post that are direct links to finding products online. Some of them provide me affiliate rewards if you use them. I'd appreciate if you did!}}

Today, we're making aromatic room spray. It's like air freshener, but better. And homemade.
So, circle around and listen closely. I don't mean to sound like a creepy announcer. It's just how I'm rolling right now. Anyway, the materials you're going to need are as follows.

• Vodka, 80 proof, any brand. (You're only going to use about a teaspoon, so if you don't keep any in the house, a small bottle is just fine.)
• Essential Oils - I'm using lavender and chamomile because they're both known for having a calming effect. (Yes the chamomile link is to a different brand than my photo - it's the same oil in jojoba blend.)
• A dropper, for measuring more accurately.
• A 4oz spray bottle, glass, plastic*, stainless steel, up to you. Darker, or light preventing, is better.
• 4 oz distilled/filtered water.
• A shot-glass, teacup, any type of ceramic/glass small container will do. Also, a second one to keep the vodka in.

Making Stuff Time!!

• To make the spray, you're going to start by putting the 4 oz of water into the 4 oz spray bottle. Now you have water spray. You can stop here if you really just wanted water spray. That's cool.

• Instead of just using the vodka straight from the bottle, to avoid any possible contamination, I dumped about a tablespoon worth into a shot glass. I used a teacup for mixing.

• Next, using the dropper, suck up a bunch of vodka into it. Drop 300 drops into the glass/ceramic container. (My teacup.) You'll have to suck up more than the initial go, the dropper likely just won't hold enough. And 300 drops is easier/faster to do that you'll initially think.

• Then, using your dropper again, put 100 drops of oil into the vodka in the glass. If you're using more than one oil, you'll need to adjust accordingly. I used 60 drops lavender and 40 chamomile. Just don't use more than 100. Essential oils are a great remedy for many ailments, but if you go overboard you can become sick, rashy, or sensitized to them. The next photos explain how I used the dropper even though the bottle has one of those built in drop regulating things. 

• Stir up the oil cocktail. (Haha, you get it. I know you do.) You can use the dropper to do this.
• Pour the oil/vodka mix into the spray bottle.

Last Few Steps!

• Cap it tight, shake really REALLY well.
• You're good to go. I'd advise shaking it a bit before each use just for optimal scent and lasting.

*The reason we use the vodka with the oil is to "solubilize" the oil, or basically pre-dissolve it. If you don't do this step, the oil won't mix with the water properly and with therefore be less effective. Also, as mentioned above, I stated that you can use a plastic bottle for this. Many people warn against storing essential oils in plastic as the oil will eat away the plastic. Solubilizing will prevent that. 

As I said in a previous post about essential oils, I'm not a registered or certified aromatherapist. I leave it up to you to do appropriate research before using essential oils. I'm including a few links below to help you in educating yourself. 

Methods of Oil Application 

General Dilution Guidelines

Guide to Diluting Essential Oils (and info about sensitization)

Essential Oil Safety: A Guide for Health Care Professionals

How to Add [and sell!] a Pattern on Craftsy

How to Add & Sell a Pattern on Craftsy
(This post contains affiliate links which means I will be compensated if you purchase after clicking these links.)

In addition to tons of online courses and craft supplies, Craftsy also has an independent online pattern store that lets anyone upload and sell downloadable e-patterns with no fee!

Adding a pattern to Craftsy and starting your pattern store is easy! The pattern store can be found from the Craftsy main page just by clicking the "Patterns" tab after you logged in.

1. Make sure you have a Paypal account. All pattern transactions happen through Paypal, and Craftsy requires that you have a Student, Premier, or Business account in order to sell patterns. Your PayPal will charge a small transaction fee, but that's typical with all PayPal transactions.
2. Put your pattern in .pdf format. You can’t upload any patterns to the online pattern store unless they’re a .pdf file format, so if they’re currently saved as a Word doc, .jpg, or other file format, you must convert it to a .pdf before you upload it to Craftsy. To do this, most programs have a Save As option. There are also many online converters that can be use free of charge.
3. Include a photo. All patterns must have at least one photo to accompany them, but you can add up to five photos. Colorful, interesting photos tend to work the best for catching peoples' eyes!
4. Fill out the pattern description. They will ask you some basic questions about your pattern,  making it easier for Craftsy folk to find your pattern and know what your pattern is for. Make sure you have info about your pattern handy for this step.

For more information on how to sell a pattern through Craftsy, or to get started, visit Craftsy today!