Cinnamon Roll Follow Up

After the cinnamon rolls were finished I quickly thought about who I could give some too to get at least 2/3 of the pan out of the house to other hungry tummies. I gave some to my mother who was going to visit my grandmother, I packed one for each of the girls at work, and then Andre scarfed one down after dinner last night.

The general consensus? They are the best cinnamon rolls ever! One of my friends at work said they were almost as good as sex (but according to her not as good because she really likes sex). Andre the man who hates Cinnabons, said they were the best cinnamon buns ever and I should sell them. Big praise from a man who isn't really a big baked good-type person.

So I think it's safe to say that my friends should like them. If they don't I know who will!

Cinnamon roll run through

I'm having some friends over in a few weeks for brunch pot-luck. We each take turns hosting, and I offered to host this next one. I was searching online for something new and exciting to make, and came across what looked like a very decadent Cinnabon Cinnamon Roll recipe on recipezaar.com. I had a recipe made with potato dough, but it was so time consuming, and this one could be made with the help of my bread maker, so I had to give it a try! Now that I have tried this recipe I will be making it again for the brunch.


With anything that involves a dough, I like pictures. There is something about being able to compare my product to the recipe that is comforting, so I snapped some pictures while baking this afternoon. The recipe that I am including below is to be used with a breadmaker on the dough setting, with a few little changes that I included after reading the reviews on the site.

Cinnabon Cinnamon Rolls

DOUGH
1 cup warm milk
2 eggs at room temperature
1/3 cup butter (margarine) cut into small pieces
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp salt
4 cups all purpose flour
1 (1/4 ounce) package dry yeast (2 1/4 tsp bread maker yeast)

FILLING
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 1/2 tablespoons cinnamon (I used Saigon Cinnamon, the one referred to in the comments section. It is the one I use regularly at home. It can be found at Costco.)
1/3 cup margarine, softened (butter does not spread as well on the dough)

ICING
1 block of cream cheese (I used light)
1/4 cup butter (1/2 stick)
4 cups powdered sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
3 tablespoons milk, enough to aid in spreading consistency (optional. I found it was not needed after being whipped into submission in my stand mixer.)

Directions
1. Add the ingredients for the dough in the order listed above (or according to your bread makers instructions. Turn on machine to dough setting and go and relax with a book. Here is what the dough looked like right before I took it out of the bread machine:
















2. Take dough out of bread maker and roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface, until it is approx 21 inches long by 16 inches wide. It should be approx 1/4 inch thick.
3. To make filling, combine the brown sugar and cinnamon in a bowl.
4. Spread the softened margarine over the surface of the dough, then sprinkle the brown sugar and cinnamon evenly over the surface.
















15. Working carefully, from the long edge, roll the dough down to the bottom edge. I cut the log in half, then in half again. Each one of those four logs can be cut into three rolls. Here is the the last log being sliced:

6. Cut the dough into 1 3/4 inch slices, and place in a lightly greased baking pan.

7. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
8. Cover the pan with a cloth and place on the preheating oven for 30 minutes or until the rolls rise to almost twice in size.

Here they are ready to go into the oven after the 2nd rise:

9. Bake for approx. 15 minutes or until light golden brown.

(Mine were slightly dark at after 18 minutes in the oven.)

10. While the rolls are baking combine the icing ingredients.
11. Beat well with an electric mixer until fluffy.
12. When the rolls are done, spread generously with icing.

It was a little close to dinner time when I finished everything. But I had to steal just a little nibble to be able to give an honest opinion. They are in a word, yuuuuuuuumy! They are very rich as the recipe predicted, and very addictive, so I will be giving some to my mother tonight when she goes to visit my grandmother so they can share, and then I will be taking some more to the office tomorrow for the girls there to enjoy.

Do you think my friends will like them?

Paint Review Part 2 (Including the Aura review)

Okay, I was going to wait till tomorrow to post part 2 of the review, but I won't be around, and I had some friends that are interested in the Aura review (who knew?), so here it goes. All about "specialty paints".

When I'm painting, I like to use a paint that is appropriate for the room that I'm painting. So when it came to painting the bathroom and the kitchen, that was no different. For the bathroom I chose another CIL paint, and for the kitchen, the much awaited Benjamin Moore Aura paint.

CIL Smart3 Wash & Wear (Satin finish):

Price: $38.97

Availability: All Home Depot stores.

Coverage: This stuff is pretty great as far as paint goes. When you're repainting a space, one of the things that is a pain, is filling in all the holes, and then having to prime all of those holes before painting. This is a 3-in-1 paint so that is not necessary! Just paint and you're done. Most spaces that I use this 2 coats are needed to get full coverage though. Overall coverage: A

Scent: Okay, I mentioned before about how much the Behr paint smells, this one is pretty high up there too. I will give this paint the benefit of the doubt being I was painting a very tiny bathroom with the door closed, but the room smelled like paint for a few days after we were done. Overall Scent: Strong

True to colour: It was true to the colour we had matched it to.

Scrubbable/Washable: For high traffic areas, or areas you just want to be able to scrub, this paint is great. You can wipe the walls with a clorox wipe, and not have a worry. Overall washability: A+

Use it again: For the price I would definitely use this again. It was a great product. I am willing to try a Low VOC version just to avoid the smell though. If anyone uses the new Aura bathroom paint, I'd be willing to find out what they thought!

Low/No VOC's: This paint does not fall under this category

Benjamin Moore Aura (Eggshell Finish)

Price: $66/gallon+tinting fee (ie. the deeper the colour the more the fee)*

Availability: Available only through a Benjamin Moore dealer.

Coverage: The company goes on and on about how you will only ever need 2 coats of paint when using their product regardless of the colour. I would be willing to test this theory with a nice deep wine colour if I had unlimited amounts of cash, and well a room that I wanted that dark. I had to use two coats of paint for the kitchen walls, I can't imagine anyone using less than one coat and getting the results that they are after.

Like the CIL Smart3 paint, this paint is also a 3-in-1 paint. It primes, as well as being able to use this over either oil or latex paint. This comes in very handy when having to paint walls that were last painted sometime in the 70's. I love this these features in a paint.

Overall coverage: A

True to colour: The colour on the walls is exactly the same as the chip.

Scent: One of BM's claims for this paint is that it is "scent free". I hate to break it to them, but they are lying. There is a scent. Was it as bad as the Behr paint, NO WAY! But there is still a scent. I didn't get a paint fume headache, nor did I smell the paint fumes from the second floor of the house while it was drying. You do still need to ventilate with a window and all traces of the smell will be gone by the next day. Overall Scent: Minimal

Scrubbable/Washable: The BM dealer that I worked with assured me that this paint was not only washable, but scrubbable. I'm taking her word on this since I only painted the kitchen a week ago, and we all know I have another week to three weeks before I can safely test this out. I can tell you that the paint does have a very hand print friendly finish, meaning I can touch the walls and not have those tell-tale marks on the wall.

Use it again: Yes I will definitely use this paint again! Now that I have done my test room, I have the tricks down to use this paint in a bigger space. Now I just have to save up my pennies!

Low/No VOC's: Yes! This is a Low VOC paint.

*I have been told by my grandmother (who uses only their paint) that the price of the BM paint varies dealer to dealer. So instead of going to the dealer just down the street, we had to drive 10 minutes to the cheaper dealer on the other side of the city. I'm thinking of calling the closer store, to see if this is really true. Does anyone know if this is true?

Note about the Aura paint: When I decided on the Aura paint my mother and I were given some pointers (she was painting her bedroom). First we were instructed that when using the Aura paint it was recommended that we "cut-in" the space first, followed by painting the walls. The Aura paint has an incredibly fast drying time, so by doing this you ensure that you are not "picking up" the paint if you do this order the other way.

The Aura paint dries very quickly allowing you to re-coat in just 1 hour. I started prepping the kitchen to paint around 11:30am, by the time Andre returned home from work at 7:30pm I had painted two coats on the wall, moved the furniture back, washed the floor, and cleaned up all the paint supplies. The only clue that remained was the fact the kitchen was a different colour.

There is a learning curve with the Aura paint though. With most other paints because they take so long to dry (approx 4 hours before you can re-coat) once you finish painting a wall if you notice there is a drip, or an area is too thick you can fix it and no one will be the wiser. You cannot do this with the Aura paint. It just dries too fast. You have to be very careful when using this paint, and be ready to catch any drips, or thick areas as soon as they occur. Or be willing to sand and fix later.

There is also a lot of paint pick up with this product. This was the biggest problem when applying the second coat. If you so much as hit the wall with the edge of the roller and catch the paint, it will peel off. A major pain in the ass. If you are a perfectionist, or a little clumsy, I would recommend waiting 2 or more hours before you re-coat. I think this would limit the chances of mucking up your paint job.

Overall even with the finickiness and the increased price of this product it was worth it. With no other paint would I have been able to paint two coats of paint in one afternoon and then have been able to cook dinner without wanting to be sick from the fumes. The finish of this paint is also fabulous, and very similar to the finish of the Behr paint surprisingly.

So that's it for the paint review. If anyone has any questions, just let me know!

Paint Review Part 1

Being a homeowner I have become very fussy about that type of paint I use. When you have to paint every. single. room in your home you become somewhat of a pro. I also have certain criteria for paint purchasing:

Price- The price has to be reasonable. This criteria becomes even more important considering the space that needs to be painted. If it is a smaller room, or if the room has certain needs that need to be considered (ie. bathroom humidity) then I will consider a higher price for paint.

Function of the space- Bathroom, kitchen, living room. You have to consider the function, and therefore the needs of every space. In your kitchen you need to have a paint with a scrubbable finish, especially if you actually say, cook in your kitchen. In your master bathroom you need a special bathroom paint. If you shower in there daily, there will be humidity.

Location of the paint- I do not want to be driving a half hour across town when I realize with half a wall left that I am running out of paint. The store needs to be close (r) to my home.

Low/No VOC- When we first started painting we were more interested in just getting the house painted. I had read about the Low/No VOC paints, but hadn't really researched it at all. As the bulk of the house has been painted, I have become more interested in this type of paint.

You may notice that quality of the paint is not on the list. I have omitted it for this reason: All paints will basically do the job. Regardless if it's from Home Depot, Home Hardware, Benjamin Moore, Glidden, anywhere. You put it on a roller and slap it on your walls it will do the job. Some are better than others, this is true, but it's all subjective. (And for the record I have worked with paint sold at each one of those stores over the years.)

Now on for the review! For the paint review I will review the paint on the following criteria: price, ease of purchase (availability), coverage, true to colour chip, scent, scrubbable/washable (regardless of what the paint claims), and lastly whether or not I would use the paint again. All the paints that I will review are paints that have been used in our home, some because we used them when we painted our previous apartment.

First off: Behr Premium Plus (Eggshell finish)

Price: $31.95/gallon

Availability: Purchased at any Home Depot

Coverage: This paint we chose when we painted the very first room in our house because we had used it in our entire apartment. Our master bedroom is painted with this paint, which was tinted a Debbie Travis colour.

Now before I want to get into the coverage of this paint I want to explain what we had to paint. The master bedroom was (no word of a lie) Fire Engine Red when we moved in. It was blinding. It took 2 coats of primer (also Behr paint in white) before we even attempted the wall colour. So after two coats of primer it took another 2 coats of the blue colour to achieve the results we wanted. The coverage was good, but it took alot of paint. Overall coverage: B

True to colour chip: The paint is a perfect match. The original colour is "Swan Lake" by Debbie Travis. I had never used her paint, so I had it colour matched at Home Depot. You would never know it was not the intended paint manufacturer. Overall match: A+

Scent: Being the primary painter in my home, the scent of a paint is very important to me. I am also asthmatic, so painting can be a little hard if the scent is really strong. I've been known to paint with the windows open in the dead of winter just for some fresh air.

The scent of the Behr paint is STRONG. There was many a paint high headache when using this product. Overall scent: STRONG

Scrubbable/Washable: This paint is incredible in this respect. The finish is a true eggshell finish, and washes like a charm. We had used this paint in our entire apartment before we bought the house and it was great. I scrubbed the kitchen walls many times, and ever lost any of the finish, or got any of those tell-tale wash marks that some paints get. This paint would be great in a high traffic area, or any room with children. Overall washability: A+

Would I use this again?: Yes, I would use this paint again. It was a great value for the money, and the finish is wonderful. We currently have about 2/3 of a gallon left from the bedroom that I'm thinking of lightening up when we paint the office.

Low/No VOC's: No. This paint does not fall under that category.

CIL Dulux (Eggshell finish)

Price: approx $34-38. I could not find the exact product on the Home Depot website.

Availability: Available at any Home Depot store.

Coverage: This paint claims "excellent" coverage, and it delivers on this claim. The consistency of the paint is a little thinner, but it covers so well. We used this paint for the entry way, dining room, living room, up the stairway, and the upstairs hallway. Even with some of the walls having to be primed, some walls being unpainted for 30+ years, it was a consistent, even coverage over everything. I found with this paint as well that even the walls that were less than perfect (almost every wall in the house) that the paint hid the imperfections really well.

I ended up with this paint by accident. I chose a CIL colour and the guy at Home Depot used the CIL paint instead of just tinting the Behr paint like they usually do. I decided to just go with it. Overall coverage: A+

True to colour chip: It was a CIL colour "Jefferson House" and a CIL colour. They did not recommend a tinted primer, and the colour still does not match the chip. The chip was slightly darker and richer. I'm still happy with the colour, but not a perfect match. Overall Match: Off

Scent: This had to be my favourite thing about this paint. After the stench of the Behr paint when painting the bedroom, the low odour of this paint (also claimed by the company) was a welcome surprise. No paint headaches with this product. Overall scent: Low

Scrubbable/Washable: This has to be my least favourite thing about this paint. The company claims "excellent washability" but they really didn't come through with this claim. I have tried to just wipe off fingerprints, marks, etc off the wall with just a cloth and water, and have ended up with tell-tale marks on the wall. Not good! Especially since I have this paint in some very high traffic areas. I haven't tried to re-wipe the walls in a couple months for this exact reason, so I don't know if this will lessen over time as the paint as cured. Overall Washability: B-/C

Would I use this again?: Undecided. This paint had so many great qualities for the price, but I hate not being able to wash a wall. I will see over time how it wears, and go from there.

Low/No VOC's: No, this paint does not fall under this category.

So this is the end of the Paint Review Part 1. Stay tuned for Part 2 that will include "specialty" paints, including the new Benjamin Moore Aura paint!

Confusion reins supreme

I usually don't blog about work too much, but since I had the morning off today, and there was some, well a ton of confusion at work on Friday that carried over with a phone call from the office this morning I feel a need to get it off my chest so I can go into work this afternoon, cool, calm, and collected.

I am kind of a "contract" employee of sorts. I rent space out of a chiropractic office, and am part of the office, but not part of the office if that makes any sense. I take care off all my own booking, payments, administration, and just hand over my rent cheque at the beginning of every month. I found that this was the best solution after many, many, many problems with the office staff booking appointments for me. I am a little bit of a control freak (I can admit that fully) and due to the physical nature of my job I require my appointments to be booked in a specific way. The office staff had a hard time booking the appointments this way so I took over the task fully, and my appointment book is now my sacred blackberry that is with me at all times.

I have noticed lately that the girls (the assistants) will sometimes peak at my schedule if a client of mine has a question about their next appointment, and there has been alot of little post-its waiting for me when I come in. Both cause a problem. First all it takes is one little button to be pressed by accident and pfft, there goes my day's appointments. Which has happened, and let me tell you, I was not a happy camper. Secondly, I really don't like post-its. The owner/chiropractor loves them so they are a regular fixture in our office. For actual notes, they don't work. They're too small, and they get lost, and they are a huge waste of paper!!!

So last Tuesday I come into the office, and waiting for me are quite a few notes, scribbled on my note pad, on post-its. It was nuts. On one of the post-its was a note about an appointment that was to happen on Friday. I understood it to say that that the appointment was to be cancelled. Apparently it wasn't. This led to a huge mess on Friday. Let me tell you that one lazy client who can't be bothered to call my voice mail+one small post-it+messy handwriting=one huge mess that I had to clean up.

As a result I had to leave a very detailed MEMO for the girls (the office staff/assistants) telling them there are to be no more notes. My clients all know that if I am not in the office there are to call my voice mail. Under no circumstances are there to be little post-its left for me. It's creating too many problems. The new office manager (who is thankfully a friend of mine as well) called me at home this morning and we are in agreement and she is to tell the rest of the staff.

Hopefully this week will be much smoother than last week.

Kitchen transformation

I finally got around to painting the kitchen this weekend. The weather on Saturday was craptastic, and Andre had to work all day which was also craptastic, so I decided to paint. I was using Benjamin Moore's low VOC paint 'Aura', so there was definitely a learning curve, but I am very pleased with the results. The colour that I chose with the help of their consultant works fabulously with the drapes that I had chosen, and compliments the counter, back splash and the main floor paint colour. The kitchen finally feels fresh, and bright now. A good thing in such a small kitchen.

To remind you all of what the kitchen looked like the first time we saw it:

It was blah and well...green, until I ripped off all that wallpaper:
Oh the wonderful orange paint that we found underneath. Along with about 25 nail holes that had to be refilled.

This is what the kitchen looks like at this exact moment in time:

I still have to paint all the baseboards and paint the trim around the window that has only been primed, but I'm just so happy with the kitchen I had to share. You can tell by all the added storage solutions that I am very short on cupboard space, and well prep space for that matter. Until we can afford a very necessary kitchen reno this will have to do. Until then my dreams consist of glossy subway tile back splashes, and neutral countertops...

Stay tuned for a paint review and comparison. Hopefully it won't be another two weeks in the making!!

Awesome

I was reading through a blog that I follow and I came across this video of a unique entrance that a couple did at their wedding.

I thought some of you might enjoy it:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4-94JhLEiN0

(I tried to make the video show up in my blog, but it's not co-operating with me, so you'll have to deal with a link instead!)

Bye Bye Wallpaper!

For anyone that saw my house in all it's 70's/80's tackiness will know that quite a few rooms had wallpaper. The front hall, dining room, bathroom, kitchen and office all had wallpaper. After today the only room that is left with wallpaper is the office.

I had the day off today. After Andre left for work I was left wondering what to do with myself. I was very tempted to spend the day sitting around reading, but decided that I would tackle the kitchen. Sadly this room has been sitting half done for about 7 months. For some reason the fact that this room was incomplete didn't bother me as much as the others. That and I was completely undecided about colour to paint the room.

So after I kissed my honey good bye I got dressed, threw my hair in a ponytail and got to tackling the one remaining wall with wallpaper.

To refresh your memory, this is what the kitchen looked like when we saw the house for the first time:

(listing photos)

Unfortunately you can't see in much detail the wonderful green wallpaper and border that fully compliments the green trim, the green counter top, the green back splash, and the green knobs.

And this is what the kitchen looked like today after I finished taking down the wallpaper:

I know you all are so jealous of the now bright peach on the walls. (And complete lack of storage.)

The little bits of colour on either side of the window is the actual colour that I have chosen for the kitchen. I was at a total loss choosing the colour that would not only have to work with the green, but the new drapes on the window, and the colour that we have painted the entire main floor. After a fruitless trip to Home Depot I ended up at a local Benjamin Moore dealer. I needed help.

After about 15 minutes maximum, the wonderful consultant had helped me narrow down some colours and then I finally decided on "Desert Tan". I also chose their new Aura paint (I'm so not telling Andre that one gallon cost $70!). I had been thinking about trying a new low VOC paint, and not only does Aura fit the bill, but it's also a 3-in-1 paint, meaning it primes, can go over oil or latex paint, and it is scrubbable, which is much needed in a kitchen. The bonus is that apparently it dries super quickly, so it's ready for the next coat in only an hour!

So here are some close-ups of the new paint choice for the kitchen:

What do you think?

Unfortunately my work weeks are pretty busy, so I will not have any after shots for you all until I have a weekend free to paint. Hopefully that will be this Sunday, since Andre and I will be at my grandparents cottage for their annual summer BBQ all day Saturday.

The perfect summer day

I think that day is today. There is not a cloud in the sky. Only blue as far as the eye can see. Some people would say the day is cold because it's (only) 25 degrees, but I think it's perfect.
Just a pair of light pants and a t-shirt and you're ready to go. This is my kind of day! Too bad I'm stuck at work until 7 tonight!

Bargain Shopping!

My mother and I have a routine every Sunday for the most part. We go to Tim Horton's for breakfast, sometimes after church, sometimes instead of church (shhh don't tell!) and then do a little shopping to pick up some odds and ends that were in the sale flyers. Then I usually make sure to put everything away before Andre gets home from work that night!

So this Sunday my mother had to go and pick up a ring that she had repaired, and I had to get my wedding rings that I had re dipped. We arrived at the mall just before it opened, and the only store that was open was Bowrings. My mother and I love this store. It has everything. Gifty picture frames, candle holders, furniture, dishes, you name it, they probably have it.

I have been searching for something to put on the one wall in the dining room. I couldn't decide on whether I wanted a hutch, buffet, or console table. All I knew is that I needed something on that wall.

Then I spotted it. A beautiful console table, on sale (!). It was a floor model and had been loved, and was covered in other sale merchandise. It had a few little nicks and scratches, but it was so great. So I asked the saleswoman if it was on sale (knowing full well it was). She said that one had a few scratches, but she could order a new one for me if I wished. I told her I wanted this one, and the $399 table was mine for $150.

I'm so lucky Andre doesn't really bat an eye at my furniture buying. He got home from work and took it surprisingly well when I told him I went out and just bought a table from the dining room. I think he was hoping I had bought a piece of art for the wall instead.

So here are some pictures of the new table!

The table in it's new home in the dining room.

The table with the one side pulled out. Both sides fold out which will come in handy at family dinners.

Here is a picture of the entire dining room.

(before I unwrapped the table)

You can see from this picture what I mean about needing something for that one wall. It is so bare. The dining room table looked so bare in that room all alone. At least now it has some company. We have some family photos that we have picked out for the narrow wall on the opposite side of the doorway, we just need to buy some frames, since I want all the frames to be black. Now I just have to find something to put above the table. Something with green and neutral tones to flow with the living room.

Any suggestions?