All week I’ve been relishing the spring flowers that have popped up all over town. Whether we’re driving down the street and seeing purple wild flowers appear or watching the butter yellow irises in our yard bloom, it feels like fresh flowers are everywhere. There are few subjects I love more in artwork than flowers, so I’ve always been a fan of artists that focus on floral still-life subjects. One of my favorites is Helen McCullagh, who has some incredible new paintings on display at Fleurt, a group show at Saint Cloche gallery in Sydney dedicated to flowers. Nine artists, from photographers and painters to ceramicists, will show their work starting this Saturday through Sunday, June 7th. Click here for more info on the show and check out some of Helen’s latest pieces above and below. If you’re in Sydney, send us some pics if you visit in person! It looks like it’s going to be an amazing show. Until then, best wishes for a safe and happy weekend. xo, grace
The BILLY bookshelf was a perfect size for a particular area in my house and I needed a more practical clothing storage solution.
This was made by measuring the BILLY and making sure each opening was equidistant from each other, then the measurements were taken down.
I used a long piece of plywood (looked for the most interesting piece at the hardware shop) trimmed down to the different drawer sections.
There’s a solid wood base for the bottom and plywood for the sides and it was all secured with a block of wood on the corners.
The drawers are backless so there is more space for clothing. Handles were made using a thin piece of wood.
I have left the wood raw as I love the aesthetic, but it can easily be painted to suit.
Very pleased with how it came out, and hope to inspire others with this IKEA hack!
The post Billy Chest of Drawers! appeared first on IKEA Hackers.
This week’s recipe for the Original Gooey-Gooey Cake comes from an In the Kitchen With veteran, Jocelyn Delk Adams. Jocelyn is the creator of the Grandbaby Cakes blog, where she turns out an amazing number of recipes covering the gamut of baked goods. Her first book, Grandbaby Cakes Cookbook, a cookbook which tells the story of the women in her family and how the recipes they share have shaped her love for baking, comes out this month. The next time you need a quick and easy sheet cake to take to a party or gathering, try this cake out! If you prefer loaf cakes, you can try Jocelyn’s recipe for Sweet Potato Pound Cake in our archives. —Kristina
Why Jocelyn loves this recipe: After Aunt Beverly handed over this classic recipe to our family, it instantly became a classic. My older brother André had a habit of asking for my mom to make this cake several times a year, whether it was for his birthday, Easter or just because he got an A at school. It became his “special” cake. My mom ended up making the cake so much that she knew the recipe by heart, and eventually, so did I.
Recipe image: © Jocelyn Delk Adams Author image: © Chuck Olu-Alabi
Original Gooey-Gooey Cake
Serves 20–24
It’s funny how a craze can begin. A few years ago, the baking world was consumed by a gooey butter cake trend. Little did most people know that this cake was invented decades ago — in St. Louis, not the South. In fact, my mom first received this recipe from my Aunt Beverly, a St. Louis resident, over 20 years ago. She would make it whenever we visited her and her family: my Uncle Richard and my cousins LaKeisha and Raquel.
I can definitely see why the craze caught fire. The cake itself is quite a feat! It is about as easy a baking recipe as there is, but the taste is out-of-this-world good! The bottom layer starts with yellow cake mix, but bakes into a buttery blondie texture that serves as the ideal vehicle for the cream cheese custard topping. I guess you could say that Aunt Beverly was a pioneer in the gooey-cake movement. At least, I like to think so.
Ingredients
Bottom Cake Layer
-1 (15.25-ounce) box classic yellow cake mix or 1 recipe From-Scratch Yellow Cake Mix
(recipe follows)
-1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
-2 large eggs, room temperature
Gooey Top Layer
-2 cups confectioners’ sugar
-1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, room temperature
-2 large eggs, room temperature
-1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
-Pinch of salt
For the bottom cake layer
1. Preheat your oven to 350°F. Liberally prepare a 9 x 13-inch baking pan with the nonstick method of your choice. (I recommend the parchment method described on p. 17.)
2. In a large bowl, whisk together all the ingredients until combined and thick. Evenly pat the batter into the bottom of the prepared pan.
For the gooey top layer
1. In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the sugar, cream cheese, eggs, vanilla extract, and salt over low speed. Once the sugar is fully incorporated, turn your mixer speed to high. Continue beating until all ingredients are well blended.
2. Pour the batter into the prepared pan, on top of the bottom layer, and spread it evenly across the pan using a spatula. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes. The center should still be gooey and will look underbaked.
3. Let cool on a wire rack for 10 to 15 minutes. Serve in the pan at room temperature.
From-Scratch Yellow Cake Mix
Ingredients
-1 and 3/4 cups sifted all-purpose flour
-1 cup granulated sugar
-3 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold
-3 tablespoons malt powder or powdered milk
-1 teaspoon baking powder
-1/2 teaspoon salt
1. In a food processor, combine all the ingredients and grind until the butter is fully incorporated and fine crumbs form. Use immediately, or transfer to a resealable plastic bag and store in the freezer until ready to use.
About Jocelyn: Jocelyn Delk Adams is the founder of Grandbaby Cakes, a food blog inspired by her grandmother and devoted to classic desserts and modern trends in pastry. Her work has been featured in Better Homes and Gardens, Ebony, the New York Times, People, Food52, The Kitchn, the Chicago Sun-Times, and more. She is also the founder of “A Charitable Confection,” an annual anti-violence dessert fundraiser featuring the top bakeries in Chicago. You can find Jocelyn on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest and YouTube.
Reprinted with permission from Grandbaby Cakes by Jocelyn Delk Adams, Agate Surrey, 2015.
Julia and I are having a yard sale in a few weeks and it’s been refreshing to continue to cut down on the things we own and focus on things that mean something to us or serve a highly functional purpose. Not only does it mean the visual clutter is at a minimum, but it also means that when we end our work days and sit down to relax, things around us feel simpler and easier to use. Everyone has a different method of cleaning up and finding their version of simplicity at home, but it was wonderful to watch how this book by Marie Kondo inspired people across the globe to do away with clutter and embrace a version of minimalism.
Whether you’re looking to minimize and pare down to essentials, or just organize and decorate your home in a way that makes you feel calm and relaxed, I thought today I would share a few books that will help walk you through the process of simplifying your life at home. This isn’t to make your home empty and devoid of character, but instead make room for your most cherished pieces and meaningful design decisions to shine. xo, grace
This post and the Home Ec section are brought to you by Mrs. Meyer’s Clean Day. Visit the Mrs. Meyer’s Clean Day Home-Grown Inspiration section featuring 20 DIYs, including seven from Design*Sponge!
