Strawberry Shortcake Cobbler...That's the name and I'm sticking to it!

Technically, the recipe on the box called these simply

Strawberry Shortcake.

But the "shortcake" was so much denser than a regular shortcake,

not to mention there was a "top" crust and a "bottom" crust, 

so I am calling them 

Strawberry Shortcake Cobbler!

 I am also calling them D-E-L-I-C-I-O-U-S!!

 I am ALSO calling them easy-to-make! Not only that, but they are made as individual servings. So you get the taste of cobbler...but served individually! Does it get better? 

 I made the (individual) Strawberry Shortcake Cobblers this morning without any pre-planning. Many times we get donuts on Saturday morning from a great little bakery right down the street. This morning I was not in a donut mood, but I still wanted something sweet. I remembered seeing the strawberry shortcake recipe on the back of the Bisquick box earlier in the week and I decided to try it out. 

 I made the shortcake/cobblers exactly as the recipe said on the back of the Bisquick box. All you need is sugar (only 3 Tbs. I might add!), a little butter, milk and the Bisquick mix. You mix it all together and "drop" the shortcakes on a cookie sheet and cook for 10 minutes. I might add that the "shortcakes" do get a lot bigger when they are baking! One recipe made six very big cobblers. 

 While the shortcake cobblers were baking, I cut up my strawberries for the filling. 

 The shortcake/cobblers are similar to a biscuit texture. Even better though, there were a few crunchy spots on the top. The shortcake/cobblers are definitely sweeter than biscuits, yet really not sweet. After all they only have the 3 Tbs. of sugar. They are just absolutely right! 

 While it was still hot, I cut the top off of one of the shortcakes. I put a spoonful of Marzetti Strawberry Glaze on the bottom shortcake and spread it like you would a jam. That is purely optional though...(although it was delicious...even the sugar free!!) 

I then put a layer of fresh strawberries, some Cool Whip, and then the top of the shortcake back on. I served it to my (very-surprised) Hubster. It was so quick to make, that he was not expecting something so delicious! I think he was thinking more bowl-of-cereal-type-morning. BUT to tell you how great these little shortcakes are (that have only been on the back of Bisquick boxes for YEARS and I never tried them!!!), after finishing off his Strawberry Shortcake Cobbler, the Hubs then put fresh blackberries on a shortcake and said the results were just as delicious. So if you are like me, and have seen that recipe for years and never tried it, NOW is the time.

You'll be glad you did!

I'm thinking Sunday-after-church-dessert??!!??

Edited to add: It is Sunday night and the Hubster just asked me if I could make some kind of a "blackberry syrup" to eat with the scones. I asked him what scones he was talking about and he was referring to the shortcakes (which I call cobbler!). Actually, his take on the shortcakes/cobbler is pretty accurate. They are kind of "scone-ish". And still delish!
And yes, I will probably whip up some kind of blackberry glaze to eat with the shortcakes/cobber/scones and fresh blackberries!

Linking with:
On The Menu Monday
Metamorphosis Monday
Stone Gable TTT
Open House Thursday
Wow Us Wednesday
Foodie Friday

Accidentally on Purpose!

It started out innocently enough. 

The mantel was filled with vintage children's books and some photographs.

It was a mantel that could carry me through the spring season. Easily.

 Although in posting this I realize that vintage book mantel was up for two months. That is a really long time for me. (So it really needed change!)  Also please note that when I went to take the pictures of this (the new) mantel there were a jillion little plastic bags of screws and such on the mantel. My Hubs was in the process of putting in a new storm door for us (which you can kind of see in the far left.) He "warned" me about touching any of those sacks of screws and gadgets. SO they stayed where they were. 

 I have posted before about our large very-white mantel. It is almost eight feet long, and it has a HUGE mirror hanging over it. I put the old frame up to try and break up the huge mirror. It kind of helps. When I mention getting rid of the large mirror, my Hubs almost has a heart attack. Not only is there no telling what is behind the mirror, but if you will notice there are two wall sconces attached to the mirror/wall. We will probably frame the mirror out at some point, but I am afraid it is here to stay. ANYWAY....

 Our daughter Annie came over on Saturday. She and her fiance are "eloping" to Scotland in three weeks. They will be spending their wedding and honeymoon traveling for two weeks in Scotland and Ireland. They are getting married at an old castle in Scotland. It sounds absolutely romantic and wonderful. So Annie brought over her dress so we could make a few last minute adjustments. Since she had it on, I decided to snap a quick picture of her. 

 Then the Hubs pointed out that I should take a picture of Annie in front of the big white fireplace and mantel. It made for a much better picture than a bunch of 5's. So I snapped a couple of pictures. I noticed that the collection of children's books was WAY too busy for some wedding dress pics. So I moved everything off the mantel. 

 So I snapped a couple of more then decided that the mantel looked too empty. Geez. I just can't be pleased!

 So then I put a little trio of off-white pillar kind of things. That made it a little better. 

 You can barely see the little pillar(thingy's) behind Annie. Then I decided that she looked kind of awkward (empty???) just standing there staring at me. (And to think this all began because she wanted one simple thing done to her wedding dress and I took my camera out!)

 I had a vase of white tulips already in the room, so I moved them to the mantel as well. That helped. But Annie still looked kind of empty. So I had another bouquet that was towards the end of its life and I took it apart. I randomly pulled out the best flowers from the (old) bouquet and tied them with a blue ribbon. That made Annie look less empty. (Her real bouquet is a wild-flower type that a florist in Edinburgh will create for her.) 

 By this time I wished we had actually "planned" this impromptu photo session. I could see some great pics coming out of it, IF I had only planned. Annie had not planned on photos either and did not have her hair done or her "wedding" makeup on. 

 Since Annie is getting married in Scotland, she is wearing the family tartan. We had it ready, so I got it out and went ahead and tied it around her. Not that is a totally different look for a wedding dress, isn't it? I loved it! 

 By this time I knew that our photo-shoot-that-was-not-planned had produced several very pretty simple wedding dress photos. 

 So I told Annabelle that now we need to actually PLAN a bridal photo shoot....with wedding hair, make-up, flowers, etc. I thought the huge white mantel with the simple decor, the old gold frame and the chandelier sconces looked just lovely. 

 So that long story is how my mantel went from vintage children's books to a sweet and super simple vignette. It took three times longer to tell the story than it did to take the pics!  

 I liked it so much that I am going to keep it this way for a while. ....That and the fact that Annie and I have Photo Shoot #2 coming up soon! 

Linking to:

Wow Us Wednesdays
Wow Us Wednesdays
Stone Gable TTT
Open House Thursday
Metamorphosis Monday

Feeling "Earthy"..............

I was trying to think of a fun way to "celebrate" Earth Day.

My first Earth Day tablescape is still my favorite.

No matter what ideas I thought of, they all seemed to 

copy that table. 

 It finally dawned on me to do a picnic. Not just an outside meal, but a real down-on-the-ground-picnic. I mean how much closer can you get to Mother Earth on Earth Day, than sitting on the ground having a picnic? 

 Not only that, but there were wild flowers everywhere and that just made it better. 

 I surely was not going to use paper products on Earth Day!!!!!!!!  I wanted to at least attempt to be eco-friendly! So I pulled out simple dishes in the same blue tone. 

 I had wicker chargers that I thought were a little "earthy" and some bee napkin rings that seemed to "bee" perfect for an outdoor setting. 

 I threw in some cute eyelet napkins for a little different texture as well. 

 I was using the old Radio Flyer wagon to transport everything, when I realized it might as well be part of the tablescape too!

 I had an old picnic basket and crocks and Ball jars that all carried things for the Earth Day picnic. 

 Come sit a while and enjoy the beautiful spring day. 

 And what is a picnic without an ant? If you look very closely you can see one little ant right beside the charger!

 A double-galvanized pail from Pottery Barn holds the glasses and drinks. 

 And really, what is an Earth Day celebration with an Earth being present?

 And some daisies too? Remember that old (I'm showing my age) commercial (maybe a butter commercial?) where Mother Nature wears a halo of daisies around her head and says, "It's not nice to fool Mother Nature!!" THAT's why I thought the daisies were the flower of choice! ha! Do you like how my mind works?

The best part about the whole picnic? I got every piece for the picnic out of the dish closet. Nothing is brand new. Wouldn't Mother Earth love that? 

Re-use. Re-cycle. Restore.

 One of my all time favorite quotes. ...Any day of the year.

 And what happened right when we were getting ready to start the picnic?... Well Mr. Abraham, better known as Abe, decided to join the party! Happy Earth Day!

Linking with:

Metamorphosis Monday
Wow Us Wednesday
Tablescape Thursday
Open House Thursday
Stone Gable TTT

Tulip Wreaths and Glue Guns!

Isn't she lovely?

 I just love it. It is big. It is red. It is springtime. It is perfect. 

And it only cost me $15. 

And 741,000 glue gun burns. 

 Let's back up and I will tell you how I made it. It was really quite easy. Especially if there is a good show on TV that you can watch while you are making it. OR perhaps watching TV is perhaps why I have the 741,000 glue gun burns! So...make this at your own risk! ha!

 I saw this last year and wanted to make it, but never did. Then I saw it again the first of March and got the things to make it. I read the tutorial at DIY Village. She gives great instructions and never mentions 741,000 glue gun burns. So I gathered up my things. I already had the spool of ribbon from the dollar store. I had the wreath. (If you have to buy one, use your coupon from Hob Lob or Michaels.) The only thing I actually bought were 15 bunches of red tulips at the Dollar Tree. While you are at the Dollar Tree you might as well buy band-aids too. Just saying.

 If you will notice the tulips are slightly different. There are two reasons. I bought all the red ones they had and in order to do that, I had to buy them slightly different. The ones one the right are a little more open and "ruffly". I used those as my base. The wreath at DIY Village had three colors, but I just wanted one color. If you read this blog at all you know that red is my color of choice. 

 I also had this ribbon from Hob Lob that I ended up using. It was not in my original picture, but I ended up liking it MUCH better than the silk ribbon I used. (The ribbon is used to wrap the wreath. Then I made a bow later as well.)

 I also found that in order to get those $1 price tags off, it was much easier to slide the flower or the leaves off and slide the tag off than to try to tear it off. Then just put the flower back together. 

 I did not get pictures of this, but (obviously????) I cut the groups of tulips apart into singlets. I then did as the tutorial said and stuck my flowers down into the wreath in the seams of the ribbon. I put one on the outside edge, one on the inside edge and one in the middle. I also put a dab of hot glue on each and every stem I put into the wreath. THAT is where my 741,000 glue-gun burns came in. 

 As you can see in the picture before this, I ran out of that silky ribbon. I did not want to go to the store just for a spool of ribbon. That is when I pulled the burlap ribbon out. I liked it much better: 1. For looks and 2. Then you could put the stem down anywhere. You did not have to just use the "seams".  I still put glue on the end of each stem. 

 I had the wreath laying flat as I added my tulips. Then I decided I needed it sitting up so I could see it better. I propped it on a bucket. Next time I will make the wreath outside and nail it on a deck post or something. It would be super easy to make if it was hanging as you stuff it full of tulips. 

 Then in my ineptness brilliance I decided I wanted a burlap bow as well. I went to pull out the tulips for a space and it was darn hard to get those tulips out. Let me just say those 741,000 glue-gun burns were apparently worth it. Those tulips are in to stay! 

So I just pulled out a few and squished in the burlap bow. But I am glad I did. I love the roughness against the tulips. 

 In case you are wondering what all the green stems are, the $1 tulips also come with greenery. You can't beat that! 

While the tutorial I used made hers symmetrical and perfect, my wreath is more "wild". It is definitely round, but not perfectly round. That is the look I chose. You can make yours round if you prefer. You would just be more careful sticking in the tulips to keep it symmetrical. 

 OK. I  have mine on the wooden door as you saw in several shots. But I hung it on a glass storm door to show you what it looks like on the back. Remember where I ran out of the silk ribbon? Well now I have a two-ribbon wreath. If this was going to hang up where the back could be seen, then I would have made it all one ribbon. Mine won't matter. I'm telling you tho. Go with the burlap. I suppose you wouldn't even have to wrap it if you didn't want to. It would just be a green styrofoam showing though. 

 So this is where she hangs. Isn't she lovely? Even if you have to buy the wreath and the ribbon as well as the tulips, this wreath still wouldn't cost over $25 at the most. I saw the same wreath on Etsy for $95. Of course, depending on the size you want, it could be a smaller wreath as well. 

This wreath surely says "Welcome Spring"...and maybe even "Tiptoe Thru the Tulips"!

Just watch out for those glue-guns.

Linking with:

Metamorphosis Monday

Wow Us Wednesday
Open House Thursday
Stone Gable TTT