From Pining To "Pin"-Up

I am completely and totally addicted to Pinterest.  I spend hours collecting recipes, DIY ideas for my health and home, staring at other people's manicures, pictures from other people's holiday in the Greek Isles, and reading other people's blogs.  I've spent too much time pinning and pining rather than actually making any of it a reality!  Ridiculous.  So here it is:

Each week I will take one of my "pins", make it happen, and blog about it.  Forget New Year's resolutions.  I'm starting now.  Well, I started on Christmas Day, but whatever.  I will tackle all of my new and wonderful finds and share the outcomes with you.  Right now they will likely be craft oriented, but I'm switching to a Paleo lifestyle soon.  I'll be sharing recipe results: the good, the bad, and the ugly.  If you'd like to follow me on Pinterest and see my boards I'm Lady Libertine.

My boyfriend is not a huge fan of sweets, but he LOVES cheesecake.  So, for Christmas, I started there.  We plan to move across the country soon and have recently downsized from a house to a loft.  Many of our things are packed away in storage.  I needed something simple I could make without anything more than a bowl, a spoon, and a baking dish.  Meet the "Sopapilla Cheesecake" posted by Alina for My Mellow Umbrella blogspot.  The recipe is extremely simple.  It's not really a sopapilla, but it's extremely tasty.  After reading other people's experience with it I made a few changes.

*2 cans crescent rolls
*2 8oz packages Neufchatel cheese (room temperature)
*1 cup sugar
*1 teaspoon real vanilla extract
*1/4 cup salted butter (melted)
*Cinnamon & sugar

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.  Pop the can open and press crescent rolls in one long, layer into a 9x13, ungreased, baking dish. While the oven is heating up mix the Neufchatel cheese, sugar, and vanilla together until it's creamy and smooth.  Pour mixture over the layer of crescent rolls.  Open the second can of crescent rolls and cover the cheese mixture.  You may end up with a few extra sections of crescent rolls, as I did.  If so, you can always make some other yummy creations with them.
If I had had my utencils I would have brushed the butter over the top and saved us a lot of calories.  Instead, I poured as little as possible on and tried to maneuver it around with a spatula.  Not super easy, so I poured it on and watched it pool around the sides.  It made my heart sink a little when I saw that.  I thought, for sure, I had ruined it.  I tried to soak some of it up with paper towels, fretted, and then gave in to it.  I sprinkled the cinnamon sugar on top with great gusto and slid it in the oven.
I let the cheesecake bake for 23 minutes, then shut the oven off, and let it sit in the cooling oven til we had finished lunch.  Alina's recipe says to let it bake for 20-30 minutes, so I suppose it's up to you.  It came out quite lovely.  Perfectly cooked and golden brown.  Jet said it was the best cheesecake he'd ever had.  I'm sure he was just saying that, but it was pretty good.  Next time I will definitely try less butter and a layer of a sweet-tart fruit filling.  Maybe guava paste.  If I use the store bought crescent rolls again I think I will press them and get rid of the scoring before using them as a crust.


Ahhhh.  I feel better already.  If you can "Pin It" you can DO it.  No more pining, my "Pin"-Up lovelies.  Wanna join me?  Post your trials and errors, too.  I'd love to hear from you and follow you (on Pinterest, that is)!

Last Call For Last Minute Shoppers!

The holidays are almost upon us.  Frost is finally on the ground.  Some of us are still scurrying to find gifts.  Don't fret, pets!  The shops of Avondale Estates can help.  I recently spent the day there with three talented ladies from Blast Off Burlesque: Astrid, Barb, and Sadie, their right-hand-man, Coleman, and my good friend Lori from Third Half Studios.

We met at Avondale Pizza Cafe to strategize our day, have a HUGE slice, and enjoy a Wild Heaven Craft Beer.  The Georgia based craft beer company plans to have it's own brewery in Avondale by 2013, but you can currently find them at the Beer Growler along with many others.  A whiskey gal myself I don't really drink beer, but this place may convert me.  I'm a sucker for good marketing and these craft beers have my number.  Southern Tier Brewery (my old stomping grounds in Western New York) has a Krampus Lager and a Creme Brulee Imperial Milk Stout.  Each with their own distinct personality and perfect for a couple characters on my list.  Prices start around $16.99 a growler.  Grab a Beer Growler Koozie you're at it.  The koozie has a strap for easy portability.  Great idea and design, $16.99. 

Want to read more?  Click here----> ATLRetro.

                                                                                   

L5P Holiday Shopping Guide

Shopping can be a wonderful experience, but for many, it’s the REAL nightmare before Christmas.  The traffic, humdrum selection of gifts, mobs of people shoving each other about. The mall.  Yikes!  It hurts my head just thinking about it.  There is another way.  We can have fun shopping, help out our independently owned shops, and give some really kick ass gifts without depleting our bank accounts or losing our minds!

Little 5 Points is often thought of for Halloween and… uh, people-watching.  It should be one of the first places you think of for your holiday list.  Wax N Facts, Coyote Trading, Stratosphere Skateboards,Stefan’s Vintage, Rene Rene, Cherry Bomb… there are so many reasons to shop here year-round.

For more of this post please click here----> ATLRetro