I am a Wannabe Minimalist

Part of my trek towards needing/having less has been slowly purging through each room.  Eventually, I will have to take on the basement.  That's a battle I'm really not looking forward to.  Recently, we revamped the entire living room.  We got rid of our bigger than life recliner couch and replaced it with a slim line futon.  We cleared out and moved a book shelf that was stacked full of sewing supplies and video game stuff.  It was so liberating to let go, which brings me to my next venture.

Project 333.  Have you heard of it?  Basically, you choose 33 items (clothing, accessories, jewelry, outerwear and shoes,) and that's all you wear for three months.  Sound scary?  I looked into it a little about six months ago, but never got up the nerve to try.  But, six months of slowly purging has left me with a bad taste in my mouth every time I open my stuffed to the brim dresser and closet.  So, while the wee one was napping, I went up and chose my 33 things, bagged up the rest, and tossed it out of sight.

My part of the closet looks so lonely!  Since it's my first time, there may be some swapping in and out of items as I suddenly panic and realize I have no shoes to wear to church or something.  But, I think I did pretty okay.

Want to join me?

My Name is Holly, and I am a Pinterest Addict

There.  I've said it.  My Pinterest account is full of pins that I want to bake, make or sew.  This one in particular, is quite lovely, and super duper fast.  It's a cinnamon sugar quick bread, and it's glorious.  Seriously.  I made it, then immediately posted to all of my Facebook friends that they needed to put down what they were doing, and go make it.  Like, now.  Seriously, it's that good, and so easy I could make it with my curious wee helper.

So, now I'm sharing it with you, and telling you, go and make this bread.  Right now.

Cinnamon Sugar Swirl Quick Bread

Ingredients1/3 cup white sugar2 teaspoons ground cinnamon2 cups all-purpose flour1 tablespoon baking powder1/2 teaspoon salt1 cup white sugar1 egg, beaten1 cup milk1/3 cup vegetable oil

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a 9x5 inch loaf pan. (My suggestion is to line the pan with parchment paper, the grease the paper.  The first time I made the recipe, the bread fell apart when I dumped it.)In large bowl combine flour, baking powder, salt and 1 cup sugar. Add egg, milk, and oil to flour mixture.Stir until just moistened.Pour half of the batter into pan.Sprinkle with cinnamon and 1/3 cup sugar.Cover with remaining batter.Top with more cinnamon/sugar if desired.Bake in preheated oven for 45 to 50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into center of the loaf comes out clean.Let cool in pan for 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.Wrap in foil and let sit overnight before slicing.  (I don't know why this makes a difference, but it absolutely does.  So, really, wrap it and let it sit, you won't be disappointed.  Or, grab a slice, eat it, then wrap it up so you can see how much better it is the next day!)

Now go, dazzle your spouse, best friend, children or self.  I challenge you not to eat the whole loaf in one sitting.  ;)

Recipe and original blog post (complete with tutorial pics) found here.

Fresh 20

Have you heard of Fresh 20?  If not, consider looking into it.  I purchased the three month version to try it out.  I'm not sure if I'll keep it beyond that, some of the meals aren't really ones that my family would eat.  However, the idea behind it is awesome!

It gives you a list of pantry staples that will be used in that week's meals, five recipes and it even gives you the shopping list!  Outside of pantry staples, it only uses 20 ingredients, and the best part is... (I bet you can't guess, given the name...)  Yup!  Fresh ingredients!

This week, my grocery list is so short, it almost makes me nervous!