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Wednesday, September 19, 2012

The New Life of an Old Buffet



A couple of weeks ago, I sent my sweet hubby on a mission to find a trundle bed.
No luck with the trundle bed
but he didn't come home empty handed...
He brought me this little treasure
 He scored this lovely for $50!!
 
Obviously, it needed some TLC
and I was more than happy to oblige!
And this is the beautiful transformation...

 
I absolutely LOVE this piece of furniture!
It now holds Shelby's toys and books neatly out of the way.
 
I sanded it down a bit and cleaned it up.
Then I removed the drawers and doors and spray-painted them
Krylon Leather Brown.
Then I spray painted the buffet with
Krylon Bahama Sea.
 
Once the paint dried for a few hours, I used
Minwax Gel Stain in Chestnut to glaze over all of the painted surfaces.
I painted it on and wiped it off with an old rag
{you need to work quickly and in small areas at a time when using gel stain}.
 
 
Oh...and I Mod Podged the inside of the drawers so they are cleaner
{and prettier}!
 
Here are some close-up details...
 I added glass knobs
 
 


I painted over the pulls and dry-brushed them with gold paint.
 
Refinishing furniture is SO rewarding to me...
especially when it's SO inexpensive!!
Happy Me +Happy Budget=Happy Hubby!
That's a win in any book!
 
 
Go score a thrift store find and bring it back to life...you'll be so happy you did!
 
Have a blessed day,
Kim


Wednesday, September 5, 2012

Mini Apple Pies

When we invited my In-Laws over for Sunday dinner, last week,
I chose a "comfort food" menu.
Pot Roast with potatoes, carrots, and Brown gravy
Broccoli Rice Casserole
Yeast Rolls
and for dessert...
{nothing says "comfort" to me more than}...
Apple Pie!
Well, I didn't want to make just any old Apple Pie...
I wanted something fun and different.
Then, I remembered seeing these precious little pies on Pinterest
and knew that I had to make
Mini Apple Pies.
 


And this is how I did it...
 
INGREDIENTS:
2 boxes refrigerated pie crust
6 medium Granny Smith apples, chopped into small cubes
1 1/2 Tbsp. lemon juice
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar + more for sprinkling on crust
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
1 egg, beaten {for "washing" the top of each pie}
 
DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 450.
Lightly spray muffin tin with butter cooking spray.  Set aside.
Toss apples and lemon juice in a large bowl. 
In a smaller bowl, combine brown sugar and remaining ingredients.
Pour over apples and toss to coat.  Set aside.
 
  

Unroll pie crust on wax paper {sprinkled with flour}.
Using the top to a plastic container {or any other circular item of your choice}, cut out 12 circles.

Place each circle inside each well of a muffin tin.
Shape to fit.
{You will need 2 pie crusts for the bottom of 12 mini pies}
 
Fill each mini pie with a large spoonful of apple mixture.

Using a pizza cutter, cut thin strips of the remaining pie crusts {I used 1 1/2 regular pie crusts for these}.
Cut various lengths as you need them and weave across the top of each pie.
Brush the top of each pie with egg wash.
Sprinkle the tops with sugar.
{I left my edges a little bit rustic because I prefer that look but if you want them to be "cleaner" and more uniform, you can cut the edges off with a knife and "pinch" them together}.



Reduce the heat of your oven to 350 degrees.
Bake pies for 15-20 minutes or until each pie is golden and the filling is bubbly.
 
Remove from oven and let them cool for about 10 minutes before removing from muffin tin.
 
 Aren't they just darling?
And they were SO yummy!
We topped with with homemade vanilla ice cream.  :)
 
These mini pies make such a fun presentation for your company.
They will feel very special!
 
Enjoy!
 
Blessings to you,
Kim