Project Domestication: March 2008

Sunday, March 23, 2008

Easter Sugar Cookies

Some fondant covered, some with royal icing...all festive!

And yes...we used the homeade fondant! Pictures 2, 8 and 9 are my friend Hailie's.

Please note her adorable duck!

{Happy Easter!}

I've been obsessed with fondant since I saw it's beautiful satin finish for the first time. However, I haven't always loved it's taste. Don't get me wrong...I am one of those people that eats fondants at wedding receptions off the cakes. But, still it has to be good fondant and not everyone makes it so desirable.

I've made a few fondant-covered cakes in the past. I've had so much fun and have always been happy with the finished product. I've always used Wilton's Ready-to-Use White Rolled Fondant because I wasn't ready to approach making my own.

A while back I found a marshmallow fondant recipe on whatscookingamerica.net., courtesy of Peggy Weaver. Well, yesterday a friend and I made it and LOVED it! It's basically a mixture of water, marshmallow and powdered sugar.

I will make this over and over again! Thanks Peg!

Words to describe the recipe:
*Tasty
*EASY
*Marshmellowy
*Pliable
*YUMMY

Piece it together...

This will soon be a quilt!

After years of watching my amazing mother make quilt after quilt, I decided it was time for me to make my own.

{more to come}

Irish Bread Pudding

As part of an Irish Day feast, I made this delectable Irish Chocolate Bread Pudding. (recipe courtesy of VisionsofsugarPlum.com and Emiline)

It was a success! I'd make it a million times over.

It was the perfect treat to end our "over-the-top" corned beef hash and herbed root vegetable meal. The lesson I learned from making such an involved meal was...less is more.

Saturday, March 15, 2008

St. Patty's Cupcake Bites

Devils food cake with chocolate chips topped with vanilla buttercream.

{Details coming soon}

Thursday, March 13, 2008

Inspiration: Greenery

Saint Patrick himself will be smiling from above after reading this post and seeing all these lovely, fun and tasty things! I for one am {green} with envy and can't decide what to bake, buy or make!

Click on each picture to find out where it's from, or how to make it!

I'm intrested in how you're celebrating, so drop me a line in the comments section!

{wear green}

Wednesday, March 12, 2008

Bring Sprinkles Home

We've all heard about the latest cupcake fad. I love them, Katie loves them, what's not to love about them?

Sprinkles, the original cupcake bakery, is the go-to place for upscale, fun and yummy cupcakes. But I'm not willing to drive to Beverly Hills to try the Red Velvet frosted with cream cheese, topped with their signature modern dot.

So let's do ourselves a {flavor} and bring the next Sprinkles location closer to home. Right now, you can vote for the next location. I personally am voting for Vegas, but choose what you wish.

I can taste their "lightly spiced buttermilk cake, dusted with cinnamon sugar" now...one of the many flavors.

Check it out! And Go Vote now!

~all photos taken from Sprinkles.com

Sunday, March 9, 2008

Easter Fun at Williams-Sonoma

I heart Williams-Sonoma. I made a visit last week and was in heaven.

Just a few favorites I came across...

Bunny with Basket Cake Pan $24.99

Easter Stamped Cookie Cutters $19.95

Egg Fry Rings $15.00

All photos taken from Williams-Sonoma.com

Sparkle Sprays and Pretty Wire

These arrangements were made for my mother-in-law back in December. She had this lovely large square vase that she wanted to fill with festive colors.

I chose large white calla lilies, white carnations, red carnations, green button mums, white spider mums, green hypernicum berries, white stock and freedom red roses. I used cedar, pine and blue spruce as my greenery.

I used some techniques I learned in my floral design class I took at my alma mater last spring. If you ever have a chance to take this class by Norah T. Hunter, she is amazing and so fun.

One of the techniques is called gridding. This is where you use wire or another object, even the flowers themselves to help build a base to support the rest of the flowers coming in the arrangement. This was really nice to use, especially on the large square vase....I wanted to avoid having all flowers be the same level and/or direction. I built the grid with some pretty red wire from the wholesaler and my line flowers.

I had additional flowers for some smaller arrangements that we put in her entryway and front room. I love these little vases, especially the cubed one. I topped off the arrangements with silver sparkle spray to add a little Christmas magic.

This arrangement went in another room. I love gerbs and thought this wired ribbon was a fun addition.

Saturday, March 8, 2008

Welcome!

I'm on a quest: a quest for domestication.

This blog is a log of this journey I call Project Domestication. Here I will expound on all things domestic. You can expect frequent posts on cooking, cleaning, cake decorating, shopping, entertaining, home decor, wife-ing, (ya, wife tips), dating, crafts, quilting, sewing, health, exercise, household affairs and more. Please join me, I welcome your comments and suggestions.

Friday, March 7, 2008

Recipe Index by Category

Thursday, March 6, 2008

About Me

Name: Becky Olsen

Location: Utah, USA

Day Job: Public Relations/Communications

Interests: food (obviously), travel, cupcakes, baking, rollerblading, anything my mom does, Saved By the Bell, random community events and well-planned parties with fun people.

Contact Me: projectdomestication(at)gmail(dot)com
www.twitter.com/DomesticBecky