Baggu

I am going to have get me one of these. :D

Strawberry Cake

This strawberry cake recipe comes from a cookbook called The Cake Mix Doctor. I got this cookbook as a birthday gift years ago and would HIGHLY recommend it as something to buy for yourself or for a friend. Anyway, last night I made this cake with a friend, in a lovely heart shaped pan, to celebrate Valentines Day. It turned out great, and I thought I'd stick the recipe on here. :)


Strawberry Cake

Solid vegetable oil & flour to grease and dust the pan.
1 pack (18.25 oz.) plain white cake mix
1 pack strawberry jello (3 oz.)
1 cup blended strawberries
1 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup whole milk (or 1/4 c half & half with a 1/4 cup skim or 2% milk)
4 eggs
optional: 1 cup thawed grated coconut and/or 1/2 cup chopped pecans.

Preheat to 350 degrees. Grease & flour pan. Combine all ingredients in bowl and mix! :) If you're going to use a mixer, do low speed 1 minute and medium speed 2 minutes, and be sure to insert the coconut and pecans after blending and just mix those items in with a spoon. Pour batter into pan(s) and place on center rack in oven. Bake for 28-30 min. After 10 minutes of cooling in the pan, remove the cake. Allow to fully cool before icing with cream cheese frosting. :)

Mini-Recycling Bin

So, for the longest time I've been searching for a mini recycling bin to have in my room. No, this isn't because I'm such an eco-chic, it's because I'm lazy. I don't want to take my plastic bottles and masses of old paper down to the main recycling bins. SO, after little success finding stuff online that I actually like, I've decided to make my own.

I'm going to order a decal/sticker online -
http://www.recyclingsupply.com/recycledecals.html

And then I'm going to buy a nice small white trash bin, like this one -
http://www.oxo.com/OA_HTML/xxoxo_ibeCCtpOXOPrdDtl.jsp?section=10038&item=50876&minisite=10024&respid=53057

:)

Cord Manager

• On my desk I have a cord for my computer, lamp, speakers, iPod and phone. Mostly I just shove the excess cord behind the white board that sits on my desk leaning against the wall. That, however, only works so well.

• I was looking online today and found this little guy - http://www.roomandboard.com/rnb/product/detail.do?productGroup=19195&category=rm_accessories&subcategory=acc_org.
  

• At $9 for just one, it's not cheap, but it looks like it'll be worth it. I especially like the looks of this one because I can use it to keep cords together AND to make sure they don't fall down under my desk when not in use - something I have been using tape for these past couple of years. :D