Shed Building Plans

Perfect Elephant Ear Pastry Cookies to die for!

In yesterdays blog post I included a photo of these amazing Elephant Ear cookies that I made during last weekends snowstorm. I promised you the recipe, so here it is! Its funny how Ive gotten into the habit of grabbing my phone to snap photos while I bake and cook. "Wait! dont eat that yet! I have to take a picture of it first!" is something that my daughters are getting used to hearing. Hehe. 

Before you start:

*I highly recommend baking these cookies on parchment paper covered cookie sheets. It eliminates a lot of the mess and once you take them out of the oven they just slide right off of the parchment paper!*This is a yeast dough that you will need to refrigerate for two hours before you bake the cookies.*One last word of advice. If there are more than two or three people in your household, you may want to double this recipe. These cookies are just THAT good! 

Heres what you will need:

1 package active dry yeast
1/4 cup warm water (105 to 115 degrees F)
2 1/4 cups flour
2 Tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup milk, scalded and then cooled to lukewarm temperature (scalded means heated to just below boiling when tiny bubbles begin to appear around the edge of the milk)
1 egg yolk
2 Tablespoons of butter, melted
1 1/2 cups of sugar
2 Tablespoons cinnamon
(Optional - 1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans)


Directions:

Heat the 1/4 cup of water in a glass measuring cup. Dissolve the package of active dry yeast in the water, mix well until the yeast is dissolved, and then set aside for five minutes to allow the yeast to activate.

In a mixer combine these ingredients:

2 1/4 cups flour
2 Tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter
Mix until you have the consistency of course crumbs.

In a glass measuring cup, mix together the lukewarm scalded milk and egg yolk. Then add the yeast and water mixture to the milk and egg yolk and mix well. 

Now add the milk/egg yolk and yeast/water mixture to your flour mixture and mix well until all ingredients are combined and you have a soft dough. If the dough is too sticky you can add one or two tablespoons of flour, but the dough should be soft and not stiff. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least two hours. 












Perfect Elephant Ear Pastry Cookies to die for!

Wood Storage Shed Plans Tips For Building The Perfect Shed

If you are going to build storage instead of spending thousands on a pre-built shed, then you need to be sure you get the best wood storage shed plans before starting out.

Not all wood shed plans are alike. You can find plans and blueprints at local home improvement stores, as well as online. Some of these online shed plans are even free, but beware that this may not be the way to go.

A good set of plans is like having a good roadmap for a car trip. Both will help you get where you want to go.

Any set of shed plans need to include:

• Materials list
  
• Illustrations that show all steps involved
  
• Full dimensions
  
• Step-by-step instructions that is easy to follow
  
• Any special tools needed

Once you find a good set of plans you can be assured that you will have no trouble building a strong and safe shed that will last for years to come.


Wood Storage Shed Plans Tips For Building The Perfect Shed

The Perfect Commute Show Garden for Malvern Spring Festival 2015

Almost certainly the most shedworkingy of this years show gardens will be The Perfect Commute, designed by Deborah Bird from Beholders Eye at this years Malvern Spring Festival. Heres how she described what looks like a must-see garden specially for Shedworking readers:

"The Perfect Commute is being created for a designer who runs a consultancy from their home. They have allocated a space at the end of their garden for their working area. The design is to be imagined as part of a larger space, sectioned off with a low boundary to demarcate the area from the rest of the domestic garden.  It has a sheltered indoor working area in the form of a building being supplied by The Posh Shed Company.  This is mirrored by a sunken seating area for relaxing and meeting clients.  The garden is bounded by Jacksons Venetian fencing, sat on top of steel gabions which will be backed with natural materials.

"A focal point of the design will be a metalwork sculpture by Paul Margetts, a sculptor from Worcestershire. This piece is called ‘Focus’ and will be positioned in a raised bed and surrounded by multi-stem birch trees and soft planting. Throughout the design, planting has been chosen for year-round structure with an emphasis on spring/summer flowering specimens for the show.

"The design was inspired by a desire to minimize the daily commute, an escape from rush hour queues and the encasement of fluorescently lit office blocks. (Truth be told, it’s me building my own personal fantasy)."

Inspiration for some of the design elements is detailed on a Pinterest page set up by Deborah and she will be writing a blog during the build and run up to the show.  The garden also has a twitter page @perfect_commute

I know there are many of you who like a full breakdown of garden details so here it is:


Designer:
Deborah Bird, Beholders Eye, Birmingham, 07931 728 007, beholders_eye@outlook.com
Diploma in Garden Design (Pickard School of Garden Design) | MA in Garden Design (Staffordshire University)
Previous awards: 2 x Bronze Medals at Malvern Autumns Shows; 2 x Silver Medals at Malvern Spring Shows and one ‘Best Border in Show’

Sponsors:
The Posh Shed Company, Eardisland, Herefordshire
Paul Margetts Sculpture and Metal-Work, Belbroughton, Worcestershire
Jacksons Fencing, Ashford, Kent
Nature First, Down Hatherley, Gloucester ----------------------------------------------------
Wednesday posts are sponsored by The Stable Company®, the UKs premier supplier of garden offices and garden rooms. Click here


The Perfect Commute Show Garden for Malvern Spring Festival 2015

Unlock A Perfect Cup With A TASSIMO Brewer!

Unlock A Perfect Cup With A TASSIMO Brewer!

How To Create The Perfect Meditation Space In Your Home

Those who know me well know that I suffer from generalized anxiety. Yup! Im an anxious person. I cant help it, I didnt ask for it, and for the most part I sure dont enjoy it, but its there and I have to live with it. Im the type of person who tries to take something negative and turn it into a positive, so I will admit that over the years Ive been pretty crafty with my tendency to be anxious, and I have often tried to creatively use it to my advantage. Given that its not overwhelming, some anxiety can keep me on my toes, help me be more productive, expand my thinking, push me to be competitive (even if its just with myself) it also leads me to be a bit more of a perfectionist with my work, and makes for some pretty interesting creative writing and heartfelt poetry.

But things that are tightly wound need to unwind, and even though there are a myriad of medications that you can take to help with anxiety, anyone who suffers from anxiety should know first and foremost any med-free ways that they could possibly help themselves. Deep breathing and meditation are two perfect examples. I probably could write forever about this topic (and I will probably write more about it in the future), but Im going to get to the topic of this post, which is how meditation can be beneficial to you, and how to create the perfect meditation space in your home.
Why meditate?
The amazing thing about meditation is that it is for everyone. Anyone can benefit from meditation, no matter who you are, no matter your age, or what type of work you do, none of that matters. Meditation is for everyone.



How To Create The Perfect Meditation Space In Your Home