Blue Willow House

Do you wish to bake amazingly delicious simple cookies?  You could easily do it at your home but there are a few things you need to know before you begin baking the cookies. Here are few tips and suggestions to be followed to prepare delicious dishes.  Apart from this, you could check out the extra resources to know more about baking, craft, and decoration here. You will be amazed to find various things that you could make easily and quickly at home. You don’t have to spend so much money on buying those things.

Tips to follow

Soften the butter- Whenever you plan to bake, you need to keep the butter out of your fridge much earlier so that it softens.

Measurement of the flour should be exact- You should use the measuring cup for dry ingredients to measure the flour quantity. After you filled the cup, shake it off to remove the excess from the top.

You should never over-bake the cookies- When you take out the cookies out of the oven, it will never look fully done. Don’t think that it is not done and bake it more.

Never use an expired leavening agent- If the leavening agents are expired, then it will not give the desired result. It will make the cookies go flat.

Ingredients used

• Softened butter -1 cup
• Granulated white sugar- 1 cup
• Brown sugar- 1 cup
• Vanilla extract- 2 teaspoon
• Large eggs- 2
• All-purpose flour- 3 cups
• Baking soda- 1 teaspoon
• Baking powder- ½ teaspoon
• Sea salt- 1 teaspoon
• Chocolate chips- 2 cups

Preparation

You need to preheat the baking oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.   Using parchment paper, you need to line the baking pan.  Keep it aside.  In a large bowl, mix the flour, salt, baking soda, and baking powder. Now you need to cream the sugar and butter till it is combined. Add the vanilla extract and eggs. Beat the mixture till it is fluffy. Into this mixture, add the dry ingredients.  Add the chocolate chips into the bowl and mix it well.  Roll the dough into spoon and space it evenly in the cookie sheets. Bake it in the oven for about 10 minutes. You need to remove the pan from the oven when the cookies turn into light brown in color. Let it sit on the pan for two minutes before you remove it onto the cooling rack.

A celebration of Christmas never will be complete without baking the traditional classic Christmas cake. Even though it might look complicated, if you get the right quantity of ingredients and follow the recipe rightly, it is quite easy. Get more information about baking and decorating here. There are countless Christmas cake recipes, but if you really wish to bake a delicious traditional cake, then follow the recipe here.

Ingredients used

• Black currants- 3 and a half cups
• Golden raisins- 1 and a half cups
• Raisins- 1 and a half cups
• Mixed candied peel- /4 cup or 110 gms
• Glace cherries- 1 cup
• Plain flour- 3 and 1/3 cup
• Salt – one pinch
• Mixed spice- ½ teaspoon
• Ground cinnamon- ½ teaspoon
• Freshly ground nutmeg- ½ teaspoon
• Butter slightly softened- 300 gms
• Soft brown sugar- 1 and 1/3 cup
• Lemon zest- ½
• Large eggs- 6 (lightly beaten)
• Brandy – 3 tablespoons

Preparation

You need to first heat the oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit. The temperature should be low as this cake requires slow, long bake.  It is packed with fruits, brandy, and sugar and if the temperature gets very high, the outer part of the cake gets burnt easily while the inside part will remain undercooked.

Line a cake pan or 9-inch size using greaseproof or parchment paper.  You could tie a newspaper or brown paper around the outside of the pan. It will act as the insulator so that the cake will not get burnt from outside.

In a large bowl mix the flour, spices and salt with raisins, currants, cherries, and peel.  In a different bowl, you could cream the butter along with sugar till it gets fluffy and light. Into the butter mixture, you could add the egg that is already lightly beaten. You need to add the eggs a little bit and then beat the mixture. Continue the process until the egg is mixed well. You should take your time to complete the process and never rush it as it might curdle the mixture.

Now carefully fold half of the flour mixture into the butter mixture. Once incorporated, add the remaining flour. Lastly, add the brandy. Spoon the batter into the cake pan and ensure that there is no air pocket.

Bake the cake in the oven for 4 hours. Once the cake is done, remove it from pan and allow it too cool.

 

 

 

We all dream of the most pretty homes or the best decor for Christmas or valentine. But the expense involved stops us from going further.

Here is the solution for all of them who think that decoration means lots of spending. Next time you want to beautify or decorate your home DIY.

Here are a few benefits of taking up a DIY project.

You save money

This is the most important reason why one would want to do a project themselves without hiring someone or buying it ready-made from a store. It saves you a lot of money on the decor when you do it yourself. Also since you get to go to the shops to purchase the materials yourself it saves you money.

You learn something new

There is so much to learn when you take up a project yourself. You get to know some surprising facts about how your next door store was actually stocking all the craft materials to DIY the Christmas decor this year. You get to work on fine things and you eventually realize that you are actually creative. The process of going out and shopping also lets you meet people and maybe even form a group of like-minded people who DIY stuff like you.

Makes your brain work

When you are doing a project yourself, you get to make your brains work. From the design idea to listing out the supplies to searching for places where you can get the supplies for cheap and then using the supplies to decor the home as per plan, the brain has a lot to do. So get your brains to work when you DIY.

Get better things to talk about

Yourconversationsstart getting interesting when you try out different projects. You can share so much information with your friends or your spouse. Your kids also get to learn a lot in the process. You get to talk about what you are doing, whom you got to meet and also how the project was a success or what you did wrong that made it fail.

Start your business

Who knows that you may eventually discover that you are great at something and you could convert the art to business. Many people have unknowingly realised that they stand out in some aspect and they then make it a means to make money.

DIY thus has a huge potential to offer. So try this out and wait to see what the future holds for you.

The clearance of second-hand garments is blasting in a wide range of structures. It is no more industry for distraught networks, such outlets are springing up all over the place, and they are utilized even by world-class customers to discover genuine qualities in attire. The advantages of purchasing such garments are a lot for listing, yet there exists few of them.

The Shopper:

Probably the best arrangements generally can be seen at the second’s outlet. Since the stock is much of the time given rather than obtained, such stores can distribute the profits to the clients, bringing about fee fabulous purchases. It can be huge and as the outlets move toward overloading, a few things are given as gifts. Generally costly things, for example, formal outfits can be seen at sensible costs in second-hand stock. Things that are practically inaccessible at retail locations since they are never again famous can be seen, for example, vintage apparel.

Economy-wise:

Second-hand rebate outlets are a subsidence verification industry. Though the economy is blasting or bombing, such markdown outlets can generally prevail in some shape. That is due to the fact that the supplier of the thing isn’t enduring as he offers it to these stores. Numerous individuals who give to utilized garments outlets additionally purchase from them. This creates a constant stream of given and obtained things.

Less Fortunate Individuals:

An aspect that is frequently brought to light by individuals on constrained earnings is that they would prefer not to acknowledge philanthropy. They would prefer to have the capacity to pay their own specific manner. These stores enable individuals on a little pay to hold their nobility while accommodating their family. As individuals of every monetary dimension purchase at such stores, there doesn’t exist any social disgrace. Individuals on lesser earnings can set aside cash that would somehow be given off at retail, and utilize it for different aspects they truly require.

Environment Benefits:

Initially, it might appear to be hard to see how purchasing such garments could deliver a greener situation. However, it does, click here to find more. Reusing is the primary principles of the present urge for a cleaner domain. Rather than being discarded, utilized garments are reused once more, now and again in exceptionally abnormal ways. As textures turn out to be excessively utilized, they are separated into crude materials at material reusing areas to be utilized as a foundation for different things, and the procedure begins once more.

 

 

Shifting into another loft can be unpleasant. Ongoing overboard on fundamentals such as tables and couches, it’s overwhelming to consider how to create a new house to be increasingly like a home. In any case, decorations needn’t have to be costly. Continue reading to find a couple of splendid approaches to light up your condo at little to no cost.

Purchase removable decals or backdrops:

The lasting backdrop is scaring as it’s quite hard to expel from dividers. For tenants or mortgage holders who are plan responsible, the removable backdrop is the ideal answer for implementing shading and individual style to the house. It adheres effectively to the dividers and is easy to use and expel.

 

Keep stockpiling imaginatively:

The mess will influence your house to appear to be littler than it presently is. Dispose of pointless room books, magazines, accessories and put resources into furniture that carries out twofold responsibility such as stockpiling footrests, vintage bags or chests placed to resemble a table. The nextapt choice is putting some furniture at a point toward the side of the area to make an implicit concealed place for concealing additional items.

 

Assemble a bar truck:

This is an entertaining structure component, however, trucks found in outlets are very costly. A superior choice is to locate a modest one at your neighborhood market or handyman shop. Spray the paint on the equipment or the whole truck to match your preferences, and after that include your very own enlivening components, similar to cocktail formula books, tumbler glasses, and bar instruments. Utilize it to exhibit your most loved tablewares, prints, and costly containers of wine, as well.

 

Paint worn out furnishings:

When you become tired of your bed upholstery or different bits of huge furnishings, think about painting the current completion as opposed to discarding your things. A layer of paint on a worn out table can radically alter an item without costing a lot.

 

Switch the prevailing roof apparatuses:

Odds are your present roof fan or light hasn’t been refreshed for more than 25 years. Rather than giving these blemishes a chance to destroy your stylistic layout, change them out for progressively present daylighting choices. The impact these small alterations have in the house is stunning. Much the same as a removable backdrop, there exists tile stickers intended to increment designs to the existing shower and bathroom tiling, just as removable rock film that utilizes glue to adhere onto prevailing ledges. They can be expelled effectively, and are generally reasonable, particularly if you intend to remain in this house for a long time.

 

 

Please let us know you’re following from Snickerdoodle Create, Bake, Make link party. We’d love to follow you back! We’re happy to announce that we will be featuring even more of your wonderful posts.

Digressing from our usual topics on crafts and similar interests this time we are going to discuss investments. The financial status of any family is decided by the parents. They need to have a clear plan from the beginning. They can plan their savings in a phased manner to address the various periodical requirements. They also need to take care of emergencies. All these expenses need very prudent decisions.

Sometimes one person in the family may be very careful about the financial decisions and others may be kind of laid back. But it is important that everyone in the family is in the loop when the major financial decisions are made. Even the kids should understand that money is critical not only for a comfortable life but also for taking care of their educational and health needs. The savings and investments should take precedence over luxury and expenses on various things that they want in the present. The spending on basic necessities or needs is essential and cannot be compromised but desires are unlimited and can be postponed for a better time.

Once everyone in the family understands this fact then life becomes easy. They can plan a basic scheme of saving where money is invested systematically and then the expenses are planned. This way regular savings will become a habit for all of them and that itself will help to increase the family funds. A word of caution here is to diversify and keep the money in different types of funds. This will keep it safe and even if one kind of schemes fails then also your money will be safe in other kinds of plans. They can use trading in Bitcoin Code and similar platforms as a safe avenue for making some money in the spare time. If they do not know much about the stock market, the robots, brokers and customer care together can help them make some investments in the digital money also.

These software programs are specially designed to help people make money using software technology and data-based tools effectively. When all the members of the family chip in then they can save a lot more money and have some relaxed and happy moments together as they are sure about a secure future. You can read some positive posts about this program that have been written by financial experts. Coming back to the original post we have some more information for you.

 

Each week, on all four blogs, you’ll find the co-hosts’ selections for featured posts in the following categories: Crafts/DIY, Recipes, and Crocheting/Sewing. I pick at least one post in the Vintage category each week.  We will each include the Most Clicked as featured post as well.

Welcome to Snickerdoodle Create, Bake, Make Link Party! We’re happy to have you join us and we can’t wait to see what you share with us.  Be sure to look at our Features and join the party!

It is amazing to see many forums sharing ideas and suggestions with each other. Though this is the era of internet and information is easily available but then it becomes an overload of information.  It is just coming like bullets from a machine gun from every direction. From the moment we get up in the morning till we go to sleep, we are being bombarded with information. Being human it is not possible to ignore most of it.

However, in this huge melee of words and data all around us, it becomes difficult for us to sift through it and find out what is really important and what is not. The information that could be beneficial for us may get lost in this jumble of data. That is why scientists and technical experts have devised new ways to get relevant information. Even the search engines use the SEO tools. Big companies depend upon these data analytic tools to understand the people’s reactions and then decide their marketing techniques.

This same sophisticated technology is being used by the robots in trading platforms. They can analyze any amount of data without any problem. Therefore, they can detect the smallest changes in the trends of stock prices. This helps them to come up with pretty accurate signals. The combination of technology and artificial intelligence aids the investors make money with betting and trades as suggested by the robot. They can also take advantage of the automated trading system – where the robot not only provides signals but executes the trades as well.

With all the latest trends and sophistication, the significance of forums does not diminish. There are forums where these traders and investors can share their reviews and grievances. Experts also provide their inputs and recommendations through their websites. We have seen that a trading program called the Bitcoin Code has managed to stay ahead of most of the trading robots. It has many unique features and that is why it is so popular. It is free and that one features appeals to all those people who really want value for money. The support from brokers and customer care is very helpful and the platform is completely secure with the latest protocols in place.

The amazing technology of today also helps people to come closer and share wisdom on different forums as mentioned earlier.

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Sharon

The Blue Willow House

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Beverly and Gloria Across the Blvd (G+ / Pin / Twitter / FB / Instagram)

The anchor of centerpiece on the dining room table is my charming pink Santa.  I found him recently in a new (to me) thrift store.  He is actually a music box from The San Francisco Music Box Company.  He plays a lovely rendition of “Have Yourself a  Merry Little Christmas”.  Santa stands on a Jadeite cake plate surrounded by a lighted bottle brush wreath.  Along the center of the table, several bottle bush trees fan out from Santa.

When we go to a thrift store or for garage sales, we don’t know what kind of treasure might be waiting there. We may have been to many sales and have come back without buying anything. On the other hand, there are some occasions that we see a small piece of beautiful art or decoration piece that is just begging to be picked up. We might even buy a small object from the local superstore or from the dollar store also. All these knick-knacks can be selected only if you have a keen eye and can recognize something beautiful even if it is covered under the things being sold in a sale.

We see the same pattern in the lives of people. We all have the same opportunities and yet only some of us are able to recognize the real good ones- that can provide a successful and rich life. We feel that being rich does not equate to being happy, but we do need a certain amount of money to be comfortable in life. People realize the significance of money in their lives but when it comes to its investment they may not choose wisely.

They need a program that provides more than adequate returns to compensate for the inflation and growing requirements of the family. This necessitates that they invest in some schemes that may be risky and yet provide higher returns. Trading programs like the Bitcoin Loophole, do just that. These robotic trading software programs are created to use information very efficiently. This way the robot does all the calculations and places the bets on the behalf of investors. The trader, on the other hand, can relax after setting the restrictions and indulge in his other work or hobbies. This is the ideal example of work-life balance.

You can work for some hours every day and set the parameters based on the signals provided by the robot. When the results are good and bring in above average profits then you will be able to enhance your investment slowly and make every dollar count. This program does not charge any fee and the entire deposit is utilized in the trading process.

There are very few programs in the market that are genuine and successful. This is one such program that can be trusted to help you invest in the right direction – using the common currency and provide you the chance of making some virtual money as well. What can be better than investing in this amazing trading robot?

 

The gold chargers were a totally unexpected but lucky find a couple of weeks ago at Goodwill.  It was discount day so they were only $1.40 each.  They are gorgeous and I couldn’t buy gold plastic chargers for that price.

Each plate is different and all found at thrift stores.  I can never resist a pretty plate featuring a pink motif.  None of these beautiful plates cost more than a couple of dollars and at least one or two less than a dollar.

Saving and investing each dollar is as important as making or earning money. We do all sorts of things and do not hesitate to go to any lengths to stretch a dollar. This is an important aspect and many people do not pay attention to the kind of savings or instruments of investments that they use for their money. This negates their entire effort to make money and increase its value.

What really surprises me about such people is that they will bargain at the thrift stores to buy some old knick-knacks and try to save a few dollars but when it comes to investing they are not very conscientious that may be required from them. They listen to friends, financial advisors and most of the time invest without really understanding the implication of the plans. Each person and his family have a unique life plan and they need slight modifications in the saving plans that are available in the market. People save for their retirement, educations of their kids and repay the mortgage etc. and so everyone has a different trajectory that he needs to follow.

With online trading systems, this has been simplified to a certain extent. You can transact using a software-based trading system like Ethereum Code and you will not need to worry about any other investment.  This is one of the latest platforms that works like magic. Anyone can easily join this platform by registering on the official website. You do have to pay an initial amount of deposit to ensure that the trading process starts immediately. You have the support of an efficient customer care department and valid legitimate licensed brokers who can guide you through the complicated maze of trading. The best part of this trading system is that this specifically deals in digital currency so that you will be future ready as soon as you start trading.

Thus it is not enough to save, as the value of money might keep depreciating in future, save in such a way that you get more returns and investments appreciate in value in future. Then you will not have to worry about small things. You will be able to appreciate the finer things in the world and can fulfill all the dreams like traveling, a large house or a big car. Be savvy about investment and enhance the value of money. Being thrifty is a great attribute but then putting the savings to enhance its value is another great aspect.

The pink goblets are also a thrift store find from a few years back.  I don’t remember the exact price but I wouldn’t have paid more than a couple of dollars each for them.