Pinspirational desserts

After going through all my beauty pins on Pinterest yesterday I already have a plan of action and I'm hoping I can get organized and accomplish some of these dessert pins too. Here's what I came up with:

~ This tweed cake would be lovely for a special occasion: vanilla cake flecked with chocolate shavings, topped with vanilla buttercream and glazed with a chocolate ganache. This really is the perfect marriage of chocolate and vanilla.

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~ I don't know how I haven't made these pumpkin muffins filled with spiced marshmallow cream yet. I love pumpkin and I am crazy about marshmallows so I may have to make this soon!

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~ Lemon raspberry filled cupcakes are the perfect Springtime treat. Even with snow still on the ground I'm already imagining all the yummy things I'll make when I pick fresh raspberries and strawberries. This will be on the short list- can't wait to make them!

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~ Salted caramel buttercream frosting looks decadent and delicious! I think this would be amazing on a rich, dark chocolate cake.

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~Chocolate truffle cookies look rich and chocolatey- and I'm hoping they're soft inside. I prefer a soft cookie in the middle, with crispy edges. Looks like I'll just have to make them so I can get the answer.

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Writing this post when you're hungry is dangerous because now I want to make everything. Right. Now. I'm sure you'll see my versions of these on the blog before you know it. Have a delicious weekend!

I'm dreaming of... beauty product storage!!

Beauty product storage is a bit of an issue for me. One of the main issues is my bathroom: 

there's absolutely no storage in there except for a wall cabinet that I put up when we moved in. The pedestal sink means there's no under-cabinet storage which forces me to put all my products in the "everything" closet next to my bathroom. My dream storage space would probably be this:

Yes I'm aware that this is clothing, but I'd be happy having a large vanity for makeup and a cabinet filled with products in a room with my clothes (because this is soooo much more than a closet!). This happens to be one side of Mariah Carey's closet, and since I don't have a voice that can make millions of dollahs, I'm going to have to make do with my ranch house. 

Unfortunately there aren't many storage options for my situation. There's a ton of "under cabinet storage" or "drawer divider" containers, but since I don't have a cabinet or drawers, I have to get creative (ie, time for a hack!). I think I found a few items that could help me:

- When you have a deep shelf for narrow items (like beauty products) sometimes items in the back get lost- having this stair step would prevent that (technically this is a spice rack).

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- This would be perfect for holding larger items like a hair dryer, shampoo's, bubble baths, etc. It doesn't hurt that the color is fantastic too.

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- Another spice rack, but a turntable can be your best friend. It literally rotates your products so nothing gets forgotten. The top could hold smaller things like eye creams and nail polishes.

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- Acrylic is a girls best friend when it comes to makeup storage. I love being able to see all my products and the divided compartments and various drawer sizes really make this customizable. 

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* Do you use any organizers to corral your products? If so, any recommendations?

What I'm working with; the kitchen

Today I'm giving you a tour of my kitchen workspace. If you're anything like me, you love peering into other people's houses to see what it looks like (thank you HGTV for furthering this obsession).

panoramic shot of the kitchen

So I cook and bake in here, of course, as well as clean up messes a two-year-old loves to make, entertain, write my blogposts... you know, basically what everyone's kitchen has become- the everything room! 

We've lived in our house for over 7 years and renovated the kitchen about 4 years ago. Here's a bunch of before and after photos.

before

after! No more faux, dirty brick. Hurrah!

look how dark the kitchen was! Lot's of lighting was added

this kitchen was crying for an island (ok, I was the one crying)

so we put in some base cabinets and created an island (no more tears)

we ditched the hardware but kept the cabinets and had them painted white

(more after the jump)