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Mr Wong
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Good morning! :)
You might of noticed that I have been MIA around here and that's because I have been moving. Things have been moving way faster than I can blog about, lol!
We actually sold our house today!!!
It is hard to believe.
I will share the whole story with you but I have so many older posts in my drafts and I want to blog in order so I will just be a little behind. I am okay with that.
I am exactly where I am supposed to be. :)
You can follow all my day to day happenings on Facebook.
Well, onto the tour...
Today is my Kitchen!!
I really love our kitchen!!
I love how functional it is for our family. There is plenty of space and room to cook.
I also really like the layout because I like being right by the kitchen table and to be able to look into the family room while cooking. (I spend most of my day in the kitchen and the kids spend most of there day in the family!)
My absolute favorite thing about our kitchen is our island! I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it!! My kids love helping me cook so it is the perfect set up for my little helpers!!
When we added the granite countertops, we had them design the island top to curve. I think that adds more interest.
Our kitchen is pretty centered in our home and it is my favorite place to be.
We have a butler's pantry on the side of our kitchen which is great for extra storage. I mostly use it for the kid's arts and crafts.
It looks pretty clean and clutter-free in these pics because I took them while we had our house listed for sale and I removed everything that I could. (I didn't have too much because I hate extra stuff.)
We also installed a ceiling fan in our kitchen because the kitchen can get hot from the oven and I hate sweating while I cook.
I really like the dark cabinets but I dream of white ones, lol!
We had a heavy duty oven/stovetop because of all my cooking.
Here is another view.
Oh, when I was searching for new stools, I found these last year from Target and I have been extremely happy with them.
We have a sliding door off the eating area so I can keep my eye on the kids which is important to me.
Here is a peek into our dining room.
Well, that is my little kitchen tour!
I hope you enjoyed it!
What is your favorite feature about your kitchen?
Tell me in the comments.
Have a great day!
Bonnie :)
Posted by
Mr Wong
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Christmas is a wonderful time to display new craft and ideas. You can choose a theme and color inspiration, there are amazing number of beautiful variations! Ring in the holiday mood with a little planning and search for ideas no more! It gets really easy when you know what you are looking for,pin the idea that inspire, get ready to create and collect :-)
Christmas decoration with kids in mind, its bright, colorful and absolutely cute! Lot of diy ideas and upcycle too. Enjoy crafting and decorating this holiday season.
Christmas decoration with kids in mind, its bright, colorful and absolutely cute! Lot of diy ideas and upcycle too. Enjoy crafting and decorating this holiday season.
White Christmas tree with lovely bubblegum colored decoration. Super easy holiday cards on a ribbon, tacked to the wall with a glitter snowflake!
Lovely swag for mantel, little gifts hung on a ribbon. Make the most of what you already have.
Unconventional Pink and Purple Christmas tree! Really simple decoration but it looks absolutely decked up and perfect for a little darling. White background makes the color pop. Sweet and simple!
Kid's bedroom all setup for Christmas! A little tree with their choice of ornaments. Let them punch paper circles and make a garland.
Recycle old tinsel wreath (cardboard circle + tinsel garland), add new baubles, holiday cards. Its fun and its frugal!
How adorable is this! Make a felt ball/pom pom garland. A no fuss banner and a lovingly made advent calendar quilt. Cozy and perfect for apartment too.
What caught my eyes are the handmade pom pom decorations, and felt/card stock reindeer. These are perfectly safe for kids to handle and they will have a ball decorating the tree! Super cute :)
Convert a spiral wire Christmas tree into a personalized one for your little one's room. A little bit of floral wire, and an assortment of embellishments! Do it up differently every year, oh the possibilities..
Beautiful Christmas colors and a rustic sophistication. Decorate with a swag and some elegant embellishments for a special Christmassy effect. A perfect diy surprise!
In true holiday colors, Hanukkah decoration for a festive window. Paper craft, cricut embellishment and little cones to hold peppermint candy. The whole combination is so serene and chic.
Love all the details in here! A simple fir branch, hanging over the table with an assortment of decorations. A new twist to traditional tablescape. Its natural and unique!
Bright and perky! Cute little santa and snowman, with so many cheerful colors are sure to brighten up the holiday mood. Love the gorgeous table setting, happy and festive. :)
Posted by
Mr Wong
comments (0)
Christmas is a wonderful time to display new craft and ideas. You can choose a theme and color inspiration, there are amazing number of beautiful variations! Ring in the holiday mood with a little planning and search for ideas no more! It gets really easy when you know what you are looking for,pin the idea that inspire, get ready to create and collect :-)
Christmas decoration with kids in mind, its bright, colorful and absolutely cute! Lot of diy ideas and upcycle too. Enjoy crafting and decorating this holiday season.
Christmas decoration with kids in mind, its bright, colorful and absolutely cute! Lot of diy ideas and upcycle too. Enjoy crafting and decorating this holiday season.
White Christmas tree with lovely bubblegum colored decoration. Super easy holiday cards on a ribbon, tacked to the wall with a glitter snowflake!
Lovely swag for mantel, little gifts hung on a ribbon. Make the most of what you already have.
Unconventional Pink and Purple Christmas tree! Really simple decoration but it looks absolutely decked up and perfect for a little darling. White background makes the color pop. Sweet and simple!
Kid's bedroom all setup for Christmas! A little tree with their choice of ornaments. Let them punch paper circles and make a garland.
Recycle old tinsel wreath (cardboard circle + tinsel garland), add new baubles, holiday cards. Its fun and its frugal!
How adorable is this! Make a felt ball/pom pom garland. A no fuss banner and a lovingly made advent calendar quilt. Cozy and perfect for apartment too.
What caught my eyes are the handmade pom pom decorations, and felt/card stock reindeer. These are perfectly safe for kids to handle and they will have a ball decorating the tree! Super cute :)
Convert a spiral wire Christmas tree into a personalized one for your little one's room. A little bit of floral wire, and an assortment of embellishments! Do it up differently every year, oh the possibilities..
Beautiful Christmas colors and a rustic sophistication. Decorate with a swag and some elegant embellishments for a special Christmassy effect. A perfect diy surprise!
In true holiday colors, Hanukkah decoration for a festive window. Paper craft, cricut embellishment and little cones to hold peppermint candy. The whole combination is so serene and chic.
Love all the details in here! A simple fir branch, hanging over the table with an assortment of decorations. A new twist to traditional tablescape. Its natural and unique!
Bright and perky! Cute little santa and snowman, with so many cheerful colors are sure to brighten up the holiday mood. Love the gorgeous table setting, happy and festive. :)
Posted by
Mr Wong
comments (0)
We have another amazing contributor with us today! I am seriously loving this recipe and pics! We have Jessie, from Optimal Living, here to share this deliciously, divine cake. Jessie is a wife and mother and excellent cook!!
SWEET POTATO CAKE
I have been having some serious cake dreams lately. As you may already know…I LOVE me some cake. I also LOVE making them! So it was no real surprise that my daily power walks were being corrupted by visions of moist delicious cakes. Kind of ironic…but that is my thinking time.
With Thanksgiving coming up, I wanted to create a festive cake. And what is more festive than sweet potatoes…well maybe turkey, but I am not going there. I also remembered that I had a can of organic sweet potato purée in my pantry just begging to be used. Perfect.
Here is my latest creation…
(and before you go thinking that I totally copied the Epicurious concept…I actually had the complete cake idea in my head before I did any research. It just turns out that my idea wasn't that original…Just had to get that off my chest;)
The Recipe:
2 cups sugar
1 1/4 cups canola oil (NON-GMO!!!)
2 cup puréed sweet potatoes (or 1-15oz can of sweet potato purée)
2 tsp vanilla
4 eggs
2 cups flour
3 tsp baking powder (aluminum free)
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt
You will also need 1-2 cups of Sugared Pecans…I used this recipe. And this recipe for Caramel Frosting.
The Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Gather the ingredients.
Butter and flour a bundt pan, or 13x9 inch cake pan. Personally, I really LOVE my bundt pan…I think I discussed this in my German Apple Cake post. It makes the cake look extra classy, especially if it is for a special occasion, or you are entertaining. OK…I’ve said my bundt pan peace…you will never have to hear it again (yeah, right).
You should always use room temperature eggs when baking. Most of the time I use this little trick to quickly bring my eggs to room temp…Place the eggs in warm (not hot, or they will start cooking) water for a 5 or 10 minutes. This is a very useful tip if you are like me, and decide you are going to bake something on a whim, or just lack the attention span and patience to wait…HAHA!
This is the can of the sweet potatoes that gave me the inspiration for the recipe. I bet you could use the baby food sweet potatoes instead…but you would need A LOT of jars.
Combine the sugar, oil, sweet potatoes and vanilla in a large mixing bowl…or the bowl of your stand mixer. Mix at medium speed until well combined.
Add eggs one at a time…
scraping down the side of the bowl with each addition.
Tip:
Cracking the eggs into a small dish before adding to the batter ensures that you will not be eating pieces of shell (or fishing them out of the batter), and that if an egg is rotten it will not ruin your ingredients.
Next stir together the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg). I do this with a fork…or you could sift them. I only sift ingredients together when I am making a yellow or white cake. I know…professional pastry chef I am not.)
Add to the batter.
Mix on the lowest speed until combined and only a few lumps remain.
Do not over mix.
Pour batter into prepared pan.
Bake for 45 minutes…or 30 minutes, if you are boring and using a 13x9 inch pan;)
Let cool in the pan on a wire rack for ten minutes.
Flip the slightly cooled cake out onto the same rack. (You will need oven mitts or potholders, as the cake will still be hot!)
Let the cake cool completely for about an hour.
This part is optional…I like to trim the bottom of the cake off, and even the cake up with a serrated knife. But I am a crazy, perfectionist freak when it comes to stuff like this…so it is really up to you. Plus, I really like to eat the scraps;)
Transfer to a cake plate, or whatever you will be using to serve your cake on.
Time to prepare the frosting.
It is a bit richer than the one I used for my German Apple Cake.
It poured onto the cake like a dream.
Immediately after I frosted, I covered the top of my cake with the sugared pecans.
Look at all of that gooey caramel frosting!
I hope you will consider taking this beauty to your Thanksgiving gatherings. This was a huge hit with my family. We had this sucker polished off in a day and a half.
Enjoy!
Jessie
Thank you so much Jessie! :)
What is your favorite cake?
Bonnie :)
