Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Piperlime!

                Piperlime.com has to be one of my favorite online stores! It's a Gap Inc. store, but it's online only. They resell high-end and mid high-end products. Originally they were just a shoe store, but then they expanded to bags and shoes, and recently they have also expanded to clothing as well. Their items aren't cheap, by any means but if you get a sale at the right time you can get some very nice products for very little! Recently I placed an order at Piperlime because I wanted a new bag for school. They also have free shipping, and it only took 4 days to get here! :)



Such a beautiful box to see on the porch! :) 
AND packed full!
and look at the cute little things they put in there! There's a shopping/gift bag, and a shipping label for FREE returns! Oh and a cute little note.
Here's my bag! Her name is Arlene, by Big Buddha! She was originally $90. Now, I do LOVE to shop but I could NEVER spend that much on a bag. So, I got her on sale for $40!
Hive and Honey is a brand  Piperlime carries a lot of different products by, and I LOVE them. They have clothing, jewelry as well as shoes. They're very classic and worky. I love this sweater though and got it for about 60% off! 
Lastly, is this super cute chiffon top, with a cute little rosette accent. I love this shirt, I was looking at it for awhile on the site and it recently went on sale for only $12! 


I'm very excited for the new additions to my wardrobe! If you haven't been to Piperlime.com totally check it out! And I DARE you to not buy something! Especially because they're currently having their Lime Tag sale!

Sunday, June 26, 2011

Marshmallow Fondant. No Joke.

So I'm making a cake for my boyfriend's Bon Voyage party next weekend. He's traveling to Australia to study abroad (find his blog http://downunderdingo.blogspot.com). I'm not so comfortable with him leaving for 4 months, but whatever, I'll get over it.

So the cake: I will post a final picture of it once it's done, but for now I'll explain it. It's going to be a suit case, with a bunch of Australian stuff on it, I also think I'm going to make cupcakes as well... These photos we're my inspiration:



So today I made the fondant for it. I didn't want to use real fondant because it tastes disgusting, and I wanted to make it with something that everyone will eat.  Here's the recipe: (source: about.com)

Ingredients:

  • A bag of miniature marshmallows (4 cups).
  • 2lbs pound powdered sugar, extra for dusting (A LOT EXTRA)
  • 2 tbsp water
  • Food coloring

Preparation:

1. Put the marshmallows in a microwave-safe bowl.  Then add a few tablespoons of water, make sure all of the marshmallows are moist. Then put them in the microwave for about 25 seconds, or until they are fluffed up and can be stirred completely smooth.
 - If you want colored or flavored fondant, you can add several drops of food coloring or extracts at this point and stir until incorporated. 
***If you want to create multiple colors or flavors from one batch of fondant, do not add the colors or flavors now!!!

2.  Pour powered sugar in to a large mixing bowl and pour the marshmallows on top and begin to stir. Continue stirring until you cannot incorporate anymore sugar.

3. Prepare a large surface for kneading. I used the counter but I put down wax paper which worked very very well. Pour the marshmallow mixture on to the wax paper and begin to knead the fondant mixture like bread dough, working the sugar into the marshmallow with your hands.

4. Continue to knead the fondant until it smooths out and loses its stickiness. Add more sugar if necessary, other recipes say to be careful and not to add too much sugar but I haven't really had a problem with that, the marshmallows only seem to take as much sugar as they need.  Once the fondant is a smooth ball, it is ready to be used OR colored.
***To add color just mix in the color you want and knead until the fondant is a uniform color.

5. You can now roll it out, shape it, or wrapped to use later. Make sure it's wrapped well, and put it in the refrigerator. I suggest buttering the inside of some zip-able sandwich bags and sealing it in there.

6. If when you take it out of the refrigerator, the fondant is too sticky just add more sugar, and if it's too tough to work with, just knead in some butter and it should be ready to go! 

Savannah's Lesson's Learned:
Making fondant is no joke, it takes a lot of hand and arm work so if you have trouble working with your hands this probably isn't the best recipe. Also, unlike in other recipes on the internet, DO mix in the sugar before you start to knead otherwise it turns into a fiasco! And you have hot marshmallows stuck to your hand (ouch!). And LASTLY, don't do it right on the counter, make sure you put down something, wax paper works so well because the marshmallow won't stick to it, and it also helps you knead better.


 I will post more about this cake next week!


Friday, June 24, 2011

Putting My Big Girl Pants On.



For the first time in my life, starting in about a month, I will be cooking for myself everyday. I consider myself a pretty good cook, and I like to try a lot of new recipes. But I've never had to consistently, day after day. Cook everything by myself.

So, that's what this blog is about. It's also about me, moving on like a big girl. Starting in August I will be attending George Mason University in Fairfax Virginia for my Masters Degree and Human Factors in Applied Cognition. What does that mean? Well, I'm going to make the world a happier lazier place! the basis of Human Factors is Engineering and Ergonomics, mixed with Psychology. What does one do with this degree, I could work for an independent contracting firm and design stuff. Like new ovens, new kitchen appliances, or I can work for the government and help design airplanes and spaceships for NASA. Either way I'll be happy. I'm excited about my classes too! I'm taking one called Eye Movement and Perception, and I love that part of Human Factors, I love eyes, and the idea of sight! It's crazy how it works.

I will be moving into a townhouse in Fairfax with 3 other people. They seem really cool and I feel like we'll all totally get along (of course I say that now). We have a lot of space to work with, 1500 sq feet to be exact.

This is the floor plan:


I'm SUPER excited and CANNOT wait to be there!



I was put in charge of the kitchen table, so I decided to be thrifty. I bought a table from a garage sale for $20 dollars! Then I took it all apart. I'm currently in the process of sanding it. I'm painting the table a nice bright aqua, and I reupholster he chairs with this super cute fabric.


For the rest of my time here in New York I'm just spending time with my family and working my butt off! I've actually even been able to save money... WHAT!

So I'm going to post a bunch of stuff on here, crafts, recipes and graduate school things. Hopefully I won't get bored of this and forget to post stuff! And hopefully my posts aren't boring and no one wants to read them!

Until next time...