Raspberry Bars TO DIE FOR!!

I was pretty much MIA this week because...I ...went back to work!!!! Though I have been a flight attendant for the past 10 years I have not flown a trip in about two years until this week. I felt it was time to get back on the horse and thankfully it worked out so perfectly that I was able to work with friends which, of course, made my entry back to the FA world oh so much better. Since I was happy to be back (and thankful to not be flying with strangers on my first trip back!) I wanted to make sure and bring a special treat for the gals...enter these kick ass Raspberry Bars!!

I mentioned them a few days back when revamping that old coffee table. I got the original recipe from my Foodie Friday party last week and was so pleased with the results I had to make another batch just to prove how easy they were... OK, really because we scarfed the first batch so fast that I ran out before I could pack some up for my trip!! The original recipe came from Betty at Baking and Cooking a Tale of Two Loves but in true me fashion I tweaked it just a bit. Here is the super simple way to make these...AND DON'T MAKE THE SAME MISTAKE I DID BY ONLY MAKING A HALF BATCH!! You will be sorry and YOU WILL have to go back and make another one because these are sooo good and will not last long....

You will need:

• 2 c. flour
• 3/4 c. sugar
• 3/4 c. butter
• 1 Flax egg (1 TB ground flax mixed with 3 TB warm water) OR 1 lg. egg, beaten
• 2 tsp. vanilla
• 1 1/4 C Raspberry Jam or whatever kind of jam you want...honestly I didn't measure but I made sure it was way more than originally suggested...we like a good jammy layer. I also heated the jam on the stove for a minute to make it easier to spread.
• Half a bag of mini chocolate chips...obviously, you could use the regular ones but I think the minis are cute! :)
• 1/2 c rolled oats

Cream the butter, sugar, and flour together. Add in the Vanilla, flax egg (or reg egg) and mix well. Once mixed reserve one cup of dough for the topping and press the rest into a 9x13 pan. I lined my pan with tinfoil to make it easy to clean and make it easy to remove the whole raspberry bar to cool and cut later. Once the dough is pressed into the pan add your layer of jam. Again, I made sure to warm mine a bit on the stove to make it easy to spread on the dough. Next take your reserved cup of the dough and stir in the oats and chocolate chips. With your hands, gently crumble the whole mixture on top of your jam layer. When you run out gently press down and pop that baby in the oven!! 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes. Just keep an eye on it and once it is brown on top your raspberry bars are done!! Once the pan cools a bit you can remove the bars by grabbing them by the tinfoil and lifting them out.

Here is the picture play by play...

Mix sugar, flour, vanilla, butter, and Flax egg or egg...

Line your pan with tinfoil...

Spread out your jam in a nice even layer...

Mix your 1 cup reserve with the oats and chocolate chips...resist the urge to eat raw dough...

Crumble the mixture on top...

Out they come...

Wait for the pan to cool then gently lift the tinfoil out with raspberry bars and all. Wait a bit longer to let it cool and set then peel back the layer of tinfoil to delight in your delicious treat...

Cut into bars and enjoy!!

Naturally, we could not wait for them to cool before digging in which resulted in burnt tongues due to that extra thick (um...and extra HOT!) layer of jam!! I am happy to say it did not scar us emotionally (though slightly physically) and we were back to it within 5 minutes...we tend to have a very short memory when it comes to food related injury...

So that's it! Simple, sweet, and barely any clean up...my kind of treat!! :) Make sure to join us tomorrow for Foodie Friday to link up your latest and Greatest.

Bianca Raspberry Bars, Chocolate Raspberry bars,

Linking up to the following: It's So Very Cheri, Thrifty Decor Chick, Keeping it Simple, Today's Creative Blog, Organize With Sandy, New Nostalgia, All Thingz Related, Hope Studios, The Thrifty Home, My Backyard Eden, DIY by Design, Tip Junkie, At Home With K, Someday Crafts, Night Owl Crafting, A Little Tipsy, Beyond The Picket Fence, The DIY Show Off, The Shabby Chic Cottage, Stuff and Nonsense, At The Picket Fence, Tales from Bloggeritaville, Fireflies and Jellybeans, Tatertots and Jello, The Shabby Nest, Home Sweet Farm, Finding Fabulous, Between Naps on the Porch, Dittle Dattle, Organize and Decorate Everything, Coastal Charm, Miss Mustard Seed, The Frugal Girls, Chick on a Shoestring Budget.

GIVEAWAY!! How 'Bout Some Chick Hardware??

***GIVEAWAY CLOSED***

Whats more chic than Chick Hardware? In my opinion...nada. Nothing. Not one thing.

A few weeks back I was introduced to Hiedi from Chick Hardware. At the time she was just about to hit 100 followers and there was a big ole giveaway goin' on...ya'll know how I love me a giveaway!! I found my self jumping over to the Chick Hardware Etsy page to pick the piece I most enjoyed and keep my fingers crossed so I could win...I didn't win. Not only didn't I win but I didn't win any of the 3 giveaways I entered with the 20 plus entries total. Bummer...but it didn't much matter as I had already made up my mind to buy one of her pieces (but it would have been oh so much better to have won). And then, as luck would have it, Heidi and I hit it off after I found a minor glitch in one of her buttons and wrote her with the new code to fix it. A bloggy friendship ensued and last week, low and behold, I opened my mail to find a neat little package addressed from Heidi...

OK - my camera wasn't cooperating in terms of lighting but here is my new favorite piece of jewelry...

I LURV IT!!

Heidi makes beautiful jewelry and, among it, she has a collection of pocket watch style pendants. Besides my adorable owl, she has crowns, silver balls and recently this creative lady added skeleton keys, filigree, and even the Eiffel tower...not the real one - you know, like, a mini one!! These items are not only chic but super cute AND affordable - you know I wouldn't be this hyped up if it weren't affordable. Each of the following are...wait for it...wait for it...under 20 BUCKS!!

But the fun doesn't stop there - Heidi even has a special something for Mothers Day...a personalized Mama Bird Necklace! Or perhaps bracelets are more your style??

Seriously cute, right?? This little sampling is only scratching the surface of what Heidi can do!! For her entire selection (which she just added to this weekend!!) make sure to pop by the Chick Hardware Etsy page. Make sure to order Mom's gift soon so you can get it in time for Mothers Day and, while you're at it...through in a little something for yourself. We all know YOU DESERVE IT!! :)

I was honored by Heidi's generosity that I am happy to pay it forward. Because I love ya'll so much - I am going to award one lucky winner a $20 credit towards Chick Hardware so you can try to win your very own piece!! The rules are quite simple...

***GIVEAWAY CLOSED***

Bianca

A Coffee Table Joe Could Be Proud Of...

Not any Joe, ya'll, your cup of Joe!!

A mid winter trip to the city during a snowstorm in rush hour landed me another Craigslist Super Buy for a mere 15 smackaroos. Here is how this frumpalicious table looked when I first brought her home...

Kind of Blah and Boring but a hearty piece made of solid wood...I simply couldn't resist and certainly nothing a good coat of white can't fix!! Of course, since then this baby has been drifting from room to room in hopes of a decent makeover. First the family room, then the living room, then back to the family room for a party, then back to the living room where she sat undisturbed for at least 2 months. Well, the time has come. Time to rip off the braces, trade the glasses in for contacts, and tame that frizz. It is makeover day here at LBR!!

First things first...Start sanding! I use a Ryobi 5 inch orbital sander...I bought it a few months back for the door project and, though it isn't as powerful as one would hope, it gets the job done.

OK - you caught me...the first pic is from the door project but the camera was charging and you know I have patience to wait!! Anywho, I had to take to hand sanding to get the legs and sides done...

When painting it isn't necessary to sand the finish down to the wood - all you need is a good scuffing. I did the top REALLY well because I know it will be getting a lot of use and I wanted the primer to have a good hold of the wood. I may have gone a bit overboard but I was soooo in the zone!

Once she was sanded I dusted her off with a tack cloth and went to priming. I used 2 coats of Kilz Premium Primer with a few hours in between. You will notice I didn't take too much time fixing up her imperfections...wood putty is super stinky and for this piece I didn't mind showing off a bit of her past life...she is an antique, after all! Here is the first coat of primer...

and the second...

After that I waited 48 hours for the primer to cure REAL GOOD before I painted. I Waited and Waited...and waited. Have I mentioned how impatient I am...yeah, I thought so...

Since the weather was crappy outside I had to paint inside...painting inside = NO SPRAY PAINT!! I had to hand paint it which I feared would cause brush strokes but I referred back to the Painting Queen, Centsational Girl, and got me some paint conditioner as suggested. This is my first time using the stuff and I have to say I was quite impressed! Using a conditioner gave me a little more time to fudge around and touch up if my strokes weren't quite even...or if i happen to notice one of about thirty Bubba hairs that wound up on my ticky tacky paint job. It just goes with the territory...

I added a few tablespoons floetrol to my trim cup and filled it up with some leftover white semi gloss I happened to have lying around. Mix mix mix and the painting began... SIDE NOTE - there was no exact floetrol to paint ratio with the small amount I was mixing so I put in about 1-2 TBS in my trim cup...refer to instructions for larger quantities but this seemed to do the trick just fine.

First coat of paint...plus a gratuitous Bubba shot....

Second (and FINAL!!) coat of paint...

It is still a bit wet in this picture hence the moussed up "wet look" we all aspired to achieve in the 80's but I can assure you she dried like a charm. I love that you can still see the wood grain even after 2 coats of primer and 2 coats of paint!

I used then brushed on two thin layers of SafeCoat Acrylacq for added waterproofing and durability. I use the same technique when making my old office desk so I was sure it would withstand the test of wear and tear....I can not believe I still haven't posted that project!! I am, like 6 months behind on that one...ooops....

Once everything had cured up and dried I took some time to put the original hardware back on. My original intentions were to paint them another color but, for now, I am going to try them on as they are.

Give me a week or two and I'll probably be spraying them either oil rubbed bronze or maybe something a little more fun like red, yellow, or green for a little pop of color...let's see where the day takes me! One thing is for sure, whatever I do I will certainly be keeping you in the loop! Here are a few shots of her all finished up!

How bout a close up of 2 of my favorite Joe coffee table books?

The perfect spot to stop for breakfast...oh, and a cup of Joe if you'd like...

Don't worry - Ill be including the recipe for these goodies sometime this week!! Stay tuned for that because they are SUPER simple and so so delicious!!

What were you up to this weekend? Any special painting projects? Did you take advantage of the super weather and get outside? WE DID!! Feel free to leave a comment and let me know what's happening in your part of the world!

Linking up to the following: It's So Very Cheri, Thrifty Decor Chick, Keeping it Simple, Today's Creative Blog, Organize With Sandy, New Nostalgia, All Thingz Related, Hope Studios, The Thrifty Home, My Backyard Eden, DIY by Design, Tip Junkie, At Home With K, Someday Crafts, Night Owl Crafting, A Little Tipsy, Beyond The Picket Fence, The DIY Show Off, The Shabby Chic Cottage, Stuff and Nonsense, At The Picket Fence, Tales from Bloggeritaville, Fireflies and Jellybeans, Tatertots and Jello, The Shabby Nest, Home Sweet Farm, Finding Fabulous, Between Naps on the Porch, Dittle Dattle, Organize and Decorate Everything, Coastal Charm, Miss Mustard Seed, The Frugal Girls.

Bianca