Tuesday, March 23, 2010

margarita cake

we celebrated the birthday of a sweet friend last weekend with margaritas & a margarita cake. even though it didn't rise much, this 2-layer cake was still so moist and delish.  i added some green colored sugar and limes to make it extra pretty! {if you don't have colored sugar on hand just make your own... it's super easy. put 1 cup of sugar in a tupperware or jar with a tight lid. add 2 drops food coloring and shake it up like crazy for a minute. add more drops if the color is too light.}


margarita cake
1 box white cake mix
4 eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil
10 oz can margarita mix, thawed
1 tsp lime zest

mix all ingredients together. bake in 9 inch cake pans at 350 degrees for 22-25 minutes. 


Wednesday, March 10, 2010

pbk hack: wooden ruler growth chart

i love this growth chart from pbk.


















what i don't love is that it is really hard to find {and i know myself well enough to know that even if i could get a hold of one i wouldn't like the price!}, so i made my own!



















i had jay pick up a big pretty board at the hardware store for me. that sweet guy even sanded and stained a clear coat on the board for me! then i laid out a measuring tape and marked lines for the inches and feet. i didn't want my little guy to outgrow his growth chart {so hard to believe that someday he will be that tall!} but my board is 1' x 5' so i started my markings at 1 ft 1 inch ended the board at 6 ft 1 inch.

i really wanted the numbers to duplicate an old wooden ruler as much as possible. i even consulted my all-font-knowing sister... but alpha fonts are her forte & she wasn't sure about the numerals. i finally settled on using century font, sized at 150. i didn't trust myself to freehand the numbers so i just printed off #'s 2-6, cut them apart and took to the board with some tracing paper & a pencil.



















the last step was to fill in the numbers using the same paint pen i used for my inch marks.















i love that this growth chart will blend well in owen's room no matter what the theme. and i love being able to have a touch of pbk style in his room for so much less!