Frugal-ish Finds

Last week on my birthday, David said we could do whatever I wanted. I thought about some of my favorite things and decided I wanted to get sushi for lunch then hit up an antique shop. I could spend hours browsing thrift stores and antique shops, so I was happy that David indulged me a bit. I normally keep it pretty frugal, but since I had some birthday money from my generous mother-in-law I splurged ever so slightly.

My most expensive item was the set of pink bowls from the 1950s. Last time we were at the antique shop I noticed them, but the $15 price tag stopped me from picking them up. It was a little more than I wanted to spend. But this time since I had some extra money and they were still there, I went for it! I tried to get the clerk down to $10 for the set, but he wouldn't budge. So I happily handed over the $15.

My glass jelly jar was $5, and each small jello mold tin was $1. The ice cream scoops were $3 each and I just had to pick them up because I have had ice cream on the brain recently! I can't wait to make some and scoop it into my pretty pink bowls. I basically got each of these items because of how well I thought they would photograph with food!

I am always on the lookout for anything chicken related, so I was excited to find this sweet little figurine for $2. It does have a hole in top that would probably fit a tapered candle, so it also serves a practical purpose as well as just being so darn cute.

As was the case last time I brought home some frugal finds, Gizmo couldn't wait to see what I picked up.

I think he approves!

~Tammy

The Perfect Chocolate Birthday Cake

Someone around here has a milestone birthday this week (it's me!) so over the weekend we had some of our best friends over to celebrate. It was my kind of celebration - yummy snacks, good friends, delicious cake, and some awesome gifts. I even got a happy birthday serenade accompanied by David on the ukulele.

The centerpiece of any good birthday celebration is the cake, and I knew exactly which cake I wanted for my birthday. We've always celebrated birthdays in my family with chocolate cake, and this is the absolute best recipe I've found for the perfect chocolate birthday cake.

Perfectly Chocolate Birthday Cake
Recipe slightly adapted from Hershey's

Ingredients:
For the cake -
2 cups sugar
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup dark cocoa powder
1 1/2 t baking powder
1 1/2 t baking soda
1 t salt
1 1/2 t instant espresso powder
2 eggs
1 cup milk (I use soy or almond milk)
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 t vanilla extract
1 cup boiling water

For the frosting -
1 stick of butter
2/3 cup dark cocoa powder
3 cups powdered sugar
1/3 cup milk (I use soy or almond milk here as well)
1 t vanilla extract

Directions:
1) Heat oven to 350 F. Grease and flour your baking pan of choice (I used a 13x9x2" glass cake pan).
2) Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and espresso powder in a large bowl. Add eggs, milk, oil, and vanilla. Beat on medium speed for 2 minutes. Stir in boiling water (batter will be thin). Pour batter into prepared pan.
3) Bake 35 - 40 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean. Cool completely.
4) For the frosting, melt butter and stir in cocoa. Alternately add powdered sugar and milk, beating to spreading consistency. Add vanilla and additional milk if needed.
5) Spread frosting over cake evenly and top with rainbow sprinkles.

The amazing thing about this cake is that it actually gets better the longer it sits. The chocolate flavor intensifies and the cake gets even more moist as time goes on. I think I've eaten this cake up to a week after it was baked and it was still delicious. Keeping it tightly covered at room temperature does the trick.

What is your favorite birthday cake?

~Tammy

30

Today is a very special day on the homestead. David turns 30!

More than anyone I know, he is so deserving of a wonderful birthday. Not only is he is the best husband I could have ever asked for, he is the driving force behind all of our projects on the homestead. None of what we have accomplished out here would have ever been possible without his creativity and brawn.

We really do make a great team and I am forever grateful to have such a fabulous partner in life. What an amazing thing to be living your dream with your best friend! Happy birthday sweetheart, hope this is the best one yet.

~Tammy

Happy Birthday Cake Pops

My birthday was last week and I got some awesome gifts, cards, phone calls, text messages, and facebook messages from thoughtful family and friends. They sure do know how to make a girl feel special. I've always loved my birthday and though I'm normally not one for being the center of attention, on my birthday I do enjoy all the attention!

David knows how important my birthday is to me, especially after forgetting it several years ago. Before he left for school, he hadn't wished me happy birthday yet, so I said, "You know what today is?" and he replied, "Jeans day!" because it was on a Friday and he got to wear jeans to school. I didn't say anything, I just let it go until later that night when he profusely apologized. I forgave him, and it's a great thing to hold above his head every now and then :)

On my birthday this year, he had to work at the basketball game concession stand after school, so he didn't make it home until about 9pm that night. I heard his car pull up in the driveway and he was taking longer than usual to make his way inside. I had a feeling that he had something special for me, so I waited impatiently. He rang the doorbell and I knew something was going on. I opened the door and he came in, got down on one knee, and handed me these.

"Happy Bday Tabes" - Tabes is his nickname for me :)

I immediately started to cry, because I remembered the week before when he told me he needed a dozen eggs to take to school. I didn't ask any questions, just made sure he had the eggs before he headed out that morning and I forgot about it. But I instantly made the connection that he had given our eggs to the person who was making the cake pops for me (his superintendent's wife, Carmel, who recently started up her catering business Carmel's Creations). He knows that I don't like to eat anything made with animal products unless I know exactly where the animal products came from, so he was in cahoots with Carmel to make these cake pops with ingredients that I would feel totally ok with. She also made them as low in sugar as possible and ordered in special ingredients just for my cake pops. Apparently they had been in talks for quite a while over my delicious birthday gift!

Then, after giving me the cake pops and while I was a blubbering mess (to my defense, I had watched a sad tv show right before he got home), he stayed down on one knee and read a poem that he had written for me earlier that day. The blubbering continued.

I felt so special that he went out of his way to arrange for a gift that truly fit me and what I love. I often feel out of place when it comes to food since I don't eat meat and don't like to eat eggs unless they come from our own chickens so I know for sure that no animals were mistreated in the making of my food. It always makes me feel so loved when my family and friends go out of their way to make special vegan or animal-friendly versions of my favorite treats so that I can eat them with a clear conscience.

I'd say after this birthday, David has totally made up for the "jeans day" debacle!

~Tammy

Shared with Tweak It Tuesday 

Feathered Friend Friday

Welcome to our series "Feathered Friend Friday." Every Friday I write a post with interesting facts, photos, or funny stories about our chickens and guineas. If you need to catch up, you'll find all the Feathered Friend Friday posts here.    

Today is a very special day for my feathered friends. Chickabod, Jobin, Tubs, and Buttercup all turn three today! Our original flock had eight hens, but sadly only four of the eight are still with us today. Raven, Aster, Penguin, and Cleo are in my thoughts while I celebrate with the others.

I can't believe how different our lives were three short years ago. We were living in the city and just embarking on our journey to self-sufficiency and finding our passion. We didn't even know we wanted to live in the country! But our special delivery changed all of that.

I still remember that day. I remember pacing in my living room waiting anxiously because the package was supposed to be delivered around 2:00 in the afternoon. Finally it came, and I waited a bit to open it. I very carefully carried the box downstairs and placed it on the dryer right next to where their new home would be. I just stared at the chirping box and listened, a little scared to open it. Looking back, I think deep down I knew everything would change once I lifted the lid.

And change it did. It's almost hard to put into words what these sweet little chickies have meant to me. They showed me who I really am. They brought about change in our lives that ultimately led us to where we are today. Without them I think we would have eventually discovered our passion, but it would have taken a lot longer to realize and get up the courage to go for it.

I wanted to go all crazy chicken lady and bake them a cake and decorate their coop, but David reeled me back in. I still tried to make the day a little bit special with treats and free ranging time.

They go crazy over dog food! No, I did not let them eat this whole bowl!

Even Duchess and Sylvester came out to party.

Happy birthday to my sweet girls. Here's to many more birthdays!

~Tammy

David's Birthday Extravaganza

On Monday David turned 29! We both took off work so we could go to St. Louis for the day and spend some time together. You only turn 29 once, after all.

First up was his "surprise." I wanted to plan something that would be a surprise to him to create some birthday excitement, but he totally called it.

Yeah, we totally geeked out. David has been a life-long Star Trek fan so I knew this would be fun for him. I'm not as much of a fan as he is, but having been forced to sit through many episodes, I have developed an appreciation. :)

Of course no cameras are allowed inside the exhibit, so we had to pay out the wazoo for these shots taken while walking through. They are good souvenirs, though, so it was worth it.

Before entering the exhibit, we were offered a ride in the space shuttle simulation. David said sure, and the next thing I know I'm being strapped in and told that it goes upside down and there's a giant red button on the inside that I can push if it's too much. Oh boy. It was David's birthday, so if he wanted to go upside down we were going upside down. It didn't end up being quite as bad as I thought, but I still got a little queasy! Birthday spontaneity at its finest.

We also explored the rest of the Science Center and saw some really cool stuff in the gift shop. This section was calling my name.

This next one was the best by far. 

"Overflowing with information about pee, poo, and farts!" Amazingness.

After the science center we went to Chesterfield mall for some retail therapy. David had saved up his fun money for a while and wanted to buy some new clothes. He bought me some stuff too so I was happy. :) Then he dropped me off at the salon I used to go to in Chesterfield when we lived up here after college. It had been over a year and a half since my last hair cut and I was in dire need. My stylist up here was the only one who could ever cut my hair the way I liked it, so I wanted to go back to her. It turned out great!

If you know David, you know we had to hit up the casino on the way home. His new favorite is River City Casino. I lost $5 on the penny slots on a machine called "Milkin' It" with cows, chickens, and barns. It was perfect! David had a roller coaster of a ride with the Roulette wheel, but in the end came out $60 ahead!

Nicest bathroom ever.

Our good friends, Jamie and Holly, invited us to go to the Cards game with them on Wednesday night, so we said that was an extension of the birthday extravaganza. :)

We had great seats!

I am a huge fan of birthdays. My philosophy is that your birthday is your one day of the year that you can do whatever you want and everyone has to go along with it. It's the one day that can be shamelessly all about you. What could be better? :)

~Tammy