B'Ayre Freshener



Soaps & Candles and B'Ayres...Oh My!

 B'Ayre Fresheners

Waxed Teddy Bears make great gifts! Mother's Day or college dorms and nursing homes are a perfect setting for flameless scented bears.  Just set these loveable critters on a non-staining surface in your home, and enjoy the fragrance in the air when you walk by them!

The "Bear" Necessities:
Stuffed Teddy Bear or other animal
1 lb.Soy Wax flakes
1.5 oz fragrance oil
Ceramic bowl large enough to melt wax in microwave
Thick Rubber Gloves w/ Lining
Drying Rack
Large Tooth Comb
Tongs
Melt wax in the Microwave to about 170 - 190 degrees. Add your fragrance, and stir.
Now, give your bear a bath in the hot wax (use tongs to dip and roll him in the wax), pull him out and squeeze out a bit of the excess wax. You'll want to wear thick, lined rubber gloves to protect your hands when you do this, as the wax is very hot!
Now it's time to comb and fluff with a comb!  Pose your bear and name.
Better quality bears will hold up better to hot wax... some cheaper glued bears can fall apart, so keep this in mind when bear shopping, and when melting your wax!
Try to get a good quality bear, stuffing should be quality fiberfill not those "little popcorn balls" as they explode in hot wax.  I buy dipping bears for the most part, but have learned what bear fillings and fur simply does not work and only creates a horrible mess.
White bears can discolor with some fragrance oils!
Pre warn customers that the bears will naturally lose scent over time, and that since they sit at room temperature, naturally they cannot "throw" scent as well as a potpourri burner or similar. They will need to refresh their bear every few weeks or so with their blow dryer!
Bear Care:
Do not set waxed bears on wood surfaces as the oils in the wax can stain the wood!
These are not toys, keep out of the reach of children!
These are not candles and are not meant to be burned!

To refresh your bear, simply use a blow dryer to heat him for approx. 1 minute.
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Keep Calm and Take Flight

CLICK AND PRINT

Boys and their toys : )

The bird's eye view of our home

KITCHEN BEFORE/AFTER

Finally...this post is long overdue. The kitchen completion, just a couple of touch ups to go. Yippee-i-ya! Say goodbye to 80's oak cabinets, appliances and lino! Gone, are the lovely half wall spindles in the infamous half wall dividing the dining room and kitchen. Now replaced with a wider opening into dining room and a full wall partition.

Cabinets revamped with Cabinet Coat white paint. Hardware has been hammered black painted. Waiting for granite counter tops, travertine back splash, porcelain floor and stainless steel appliances to get installed.

Granite counters waiting to be sealed, as well as, the never ending grouting with back splash and flooring.

Goose neck spray faucet and the stainless "farm" sink. I love one huge wash bay that is super deep.

TA DA! The big reveal!

Scalloped Tomatoes

Ingredients
olive oil
2 cups (1/2-inch diced) bread from a French boule or crusty Italian bread
10-14 plum tomatoes, cut 1/2-inch dice
1 tablespoon minced garlic (3 cloves)
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup julienned basil leaves, lightly packed
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a large (12 inch) saute pan over medium heat. Add the bread cubes and stir to coat with the oil. Cook over medium to medium-high heat for 5 minutes, stirring often, until the cubes are evenly browned.
Meanwhile, combine the tomatoes, garlic, sugar, salt, and pepper in a large bowl. When the bread cubes are done, add the tomato mixture and continue to cook, stirring often, for 5 minutes. Off the heat, stir in the basil.
Pour the tomato mixture into a shallow (6 to 8 cup) baking dish. Sprinkle evenly with the Parmesan cheese and drizzle with 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes until the top is browned and the tomatoes are bubbly. Serve hot or warm.  Makes wonderful filling baked in avacodo!

The Lazy Song kind of day...

Pineapple Upside-Down Cake

Ingredients:
1/4 cup butter
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
9 slices pineapple in juice (from 14-oz can), drained
9 maraschino cherries without stems, if desired
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup shortening
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup Silk Almond vanilla flavored milk
1 egg
Directions:
Heat oven to 350°F. In 9-inch square pan, melt butter in oven. Sprinkle brown sugar evenly over melted butter. Arrange pineapple slices over brown sugar. Place cherry in center of each pineapple slice.
Beat remaining ingredients with electric mixer on low speed 30 seconds, scraping bowl constantly. Beat on high speed 3 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally. Pour batter over pineapple and cherries.
Bake 50 to 55 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Immediately place heatproof serving plate upside down over pan; turn plate and pan over. Leave pan over cake a few minutes so brown sugar mixture can drizzle over cake; remove pan. Serve warm. Serve with whipped cream if desired. Store cake loosely covered.

Cinnamon Roll Cake Recipe

I love lazy Sunday mornings.  This Pinterest recipe has been making the rounds on blogs.  I had to try it this morning, with a few tweeks/changes.  Here is the recipe updated with our preferences.  I wasn't looking for a streusel type topping, so I melted the topping butter, to blend into the cake batter. 

Cinnamon Roll Cake

Cake:

3 c. flour

1/4 tsp.salt

1 c. sugar

4 tsp. baking powder

1 1/2 c. milk

2 eggs

2 tsp. vanilla

1/2 c. butter, melted

Mix everything together except for the butter. Slowly stir in the melted butter and

pour into a greased 9x13 pan.

Topping:

3/4 c. butter, melted

1 c. brown sugar

4 Tbsp. flour

1 Tbsp. cinnamon

 For the topping, mix all the ingredients together until well combined. Drop evenly over the batter and swirl with a knife. Bake at 350 for 30-38 minutes.

Glaze:

(optional, we did not use)

2 c. powdered sugar

5 Tbsp. milk

1 tsp. vanilla

While warm drizzle the glaze over the cake.

Yum!