Wow, it has been awhile! What a busy summer. Here's just a little of what I've been up to:

This is my new favorite brownie recipe... double chocolate coconut brownies - yum!

 

I adapted the recipe from this King Arthur Flour recipe

Double Chocolate Coconut Brownies

INGREDIENTS 

4 eggs

1 1/4 cups cocoa

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1 cup (2 sticks) salted butter

2 1/4 cups sugar

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

2 cups dark chocolate chips

1 teaspoon coconut extract

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (This is the step I always forget :)

2. Beat the eggs with the cocoa, salt, baking powder, coconut extract and vanilla till smooth. 

3. In a saucepan over low heat, melt the butter, add the sugar and stir. Heat briefly until the mixture is hot but not bubbling; it'll become shiny looking as you stir it. 

4. Add the hot butter/sugar mixture to the egg/cocoa mixture, stirring until smooth.

5. Add the flour and chocolate chips, again stirring until smooth.

6. Pour the batter into a non-stick brownie pan and bake for about 30 minutes, until a toothpick poked into the center comes out with just crumbs, not wet batter. 

Optionally, adding a tablespoon of Bailey's adds another great aspect of flavor. I also want to try adding lemon zest or orange zest, or a tablespoon of peach schnapps

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I've suddenly become a hat person - don't know where that came from. But I've collected a whole bunch of cute hats over the past few months, and made this hat rack to store them / show them off:

 

I'm really pleased. It has made my room so much more homey :) 

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Now that Fall is almost here, I'm super excited about...

Restarting aerials class (off for August)

Apple cider

Caramel apples

Getting to wear sweaters

I Love Making Things!

I love making things! No matter how simple, crafting always makes me feel so productive and happy.

I found a great tutorial for making candle holders from re-used items.

Karen and I went to the thrift shop and bought an assortment of cheap, likely-looking things. I opted for matched pairs built around glass vases. The tutorial suggested decorative wooden pieces as toppers and bases, but I couldn't find any so I went mostly with coasters and thick foam cutouts.

I got a rainbow of acrylic paints and mixed custom colors. The glue suggested in the tutorial, E-6000 is awesome, though I should have left it more time to dry. It provides some hold immediately, but doesn't fully set for about 24 hours. The pieces kept coming apart as I moved and tipped them for painting. 

Here's what they looked like after assembly but before paint:

And here are the final products - amazing the difference a coat of paint makes!

I'm really pleased! The black pair could also be used as candy dishes, or to present a fancy brownie or other treat on a paper doily.

I was also really happy to realize that over-sized snack jars make great craft material storage:

The project had a pretty high up-front cost because I had to buy all the paints, brushes, and glue. Next time it will just be the cost of the thrift store items. I'm so excited to make more of these!