Sadie Priss

2012: A Cake Odyssey

2012-01-25T09:30:00.000-05:00

While looking for a new cooking or craft project to kick off the new year, I came across something that was the perfect combo of both crafts and cooking. The recipe for Momofuku Milk Bar's Birthday Cake in the Milk Bar cookbook by Christina Tosi (the pastry chef) that I picked up back in December. I purchased mine in NYC, but I've seen it at Barnes & Noble too. The recipe is intriguing for various reasons, like the use of (strange to me) ingredients like glucose and citric acid. I was most drawn to the challenge of creating a layer cake that you bake in a sheet pan, then cut out the layers, and stack them with the support of acetate sheets. Feeling scared? Think it's too complicated for you? It's not. And it's TOTALLY worth it. Every single minute of effort is SOOOOO worth it.

Because I work full-time and have a child, my free time is fairly limited. I tackled this cake project over two nights. Well...let me back up just a minute, maybe more than two nights. Before I started the cake, I had to get all of the ingredients and other supplies which involved more than just a trip to the grocery store. Most of the ingredients were basic stuff like eggs, butter, sugar, etc. However, I didn't have cake flour, grapeseed oil, glucose, citric acid, or clear vanilla. In the end, I picked up the glucose at a local cake decorating supply store (check the baking aisle at Michael's too). If glucose scares you, then you can substitute corn syrup (she notes this in the recipe). You can find cake flour and grapeseed oil at most any grocery store. I had no luck finding clear vanilla (I just used my regular brown-colored vanilla) or citric acid, but will keep an eye out for those. I can't say that those two missing ingredients made one difference in the taste or appearance of the cake. I picked up the cake ring, a large round metal cookie-cutter looking thing, that you use to cut the cake layers out of the sheet pan, and then use to form the base of the cake, at Sur la Table. You can also order them on Amazon. I purchased a sheet of acetate (clear plastic) at the local art supply store and cut out two 3"x 20" strips. You can buy these plastic strips online, but for the cost of the strips and the shipping and the fact that this is not my business, it was easier to just go the art supply store route.

So, back to the cake. The cake is made up of four separate recipes: the crumb, the icing, the cake wash, and the actual cake. I made the crumb and the icing the first night. They were very simple and quick. After I made them, I put each in their own air-tight container and placed in the fridge. To use the next night. I think Christina Tosi notes that the icing will keep for a week in the fridge and the crumb up to a month in the freezer.

Birthday Cake crumb

Crumb straight out of the oven. It's perfectly sweet, salty, and crunchy.

The next night I baked the cake. It's a pretty standard recipe, but you really must follow her instructions carefully. If she says you need to let the mixer go for 8 minutes, then you need to make sure that happens. Same thing when she says only let it go for 30 seconds. The cookbook has a great introduction written by Tosi that lays out how she arrived at this job, these recipes, and her reasons why you need to do what she says. I figure she's a renown pastry chef in NYC, not me, so I was very careful to follow each recipe to the letter--which is something I rarely do.

Once the batter was ready, I spread it out on a parchment lined quarter-sheet pan. The recipe calls for sprinkles and you can use any color combos you want. I was making this around the time we were celebrating the Baltimore Ravens' football team in the playoffs, so I figured purple, black, and yellow sprinkles were appropriate.

Straight out of the oven.

Once the cake has cooled, you cut two of the three layers out with your cake ring.

You use the left over "scrap" cake to form the bottom layer of the cake.

So now that all the parts of the cake were ready, I could finally begin to assemble. This is where that fourth recipe comes in...the cake wash. It's just vanilla and milk, so that one's not complicated at all.

Here is my set up: I lined a regular 8" cake pan with parchment. Then I put the cake ring in the middle, and lined the ring with one of the two strips of acetate.

You form the bottom layer of the cake, as I mentioned, with the scrap left over from cutting out the other two layers. So I just pressed the scrap pieces of cake into the round until I had a layer that was flat and about the same thickness as the other layers.

Then I got all excited about assembling the cake and forgot to take photos! So after the bottom layer of cake is in place, you brush the wash over it, then a thin layer of icing, sprinkle some of the cake crumb, then another thin layer of icing.

This is the first layer, before you put the layer of icing on top of the crumb.

Then you put one of the cut-out cake layers in place, after you add the other strip of acetate.

Then you do the wash, the icing, the crumb, and the icing again. Place the last cake layer on top of that, do the wash, the rest of the icing, and place the remaining crumb all over the top, or just in the center (which is what I did). And you have this:

The cake then goes in the freezer for 12 hours (minimum) and can keep in the freezer, well wrapped, for 2 weeks. About three hours before you serve it, place it in the fridge to defrost. And viola!

I must say, that in the beginning I had doubts that all this effort would be worth it for a 6-inch cake (I manged to get 12 slices out of it, so it's share-able). I was wrong. Very, very wrong. It was definitely worth the effort and it's good to know that I can whip this thing out if I need to (with a little notice) for birthdays or any other reason. The cake has the texture of angel food cake, light and fluffy, but with the flavor of a perfect vanilla cake. I think the wash adds just the right amount of moisture. As I mentioned, the crumb is perfectly crunchy, salty, and sweet. The icing is divine! I would make the icing for use on any other cake. It's a combination of buttercream icing with a little cream cheese and a touch of sea salt. Put all of those things together...the light, moist cake with the sweet, salty crumb, sandwiched between the creamy icing and it's perfection. Tosi definitely knows what she is doing!

Since I don't want to be sued, I can't post the recipe here. But someone else did, so you can read that here. Or you can just buy the book. It provides recipes for almost everything they serve at Milk Bar. From compost cookies, blueberries and cream cookies, to their famous crack pie and cereal milk.

Cheers!

2012-01-04T09:30:00.000-05:00

Happy 2012 everyone! Here's hoping that it's a fabulous year!

I'm not sure what this may indicate about the new year, but I'm going to go ahead and start this year's posts off with one about delicious alcoholic beverages.

I pinned the recipe for a Snowtini on Pinterest a few weeks ago, hoping I would get a chance to try it out over the holidays. Well, I did try it out. In fact, I tried out a whole pitcher of it on New Year's Eve and it was delicious. Next to bacon jam, this may be my new obsession.

Here is the original recipe, and my adjustments.

Snowtini
Makes 2
1/3 cup coconut cream (should be settled at the top of a can of coconut milk)
¼ cup marshmallow creme--I used about half a jar, so probably more like 1/2 cup
3 tablespoons vanilla vodka--I doubled this because I didn't use the other alcohol the recipe calls for
3 tablespoons white chocolate liqueur--I couldn't find this in time for my New Year's Eve test run, but have it on hand now and I can't wait to use it next time!
2 tablespoons half and half--I just used milk I had in the fridge
1 miniature bottle of Malibu rum--I didn't use this and probably wouldn't. Unless you have it or just love it, you get plenty of coconut flavor from the coconut and the coconut cream
¼ cup coconut
2-3 tablespoons sugar--I omitted this, it was sweet enough with the marshmallow creme and coconut cream
1/8 teaspoon salt--also omitted this
Ice
1 package of Hostess Snoballs to garnish--I couldn't find these (but will look again next time I go to the store), so I used a powdered doughnut hole

Add all ingredients to blender and blend, Baby, blend!!! Keep adding ice until you get a nice, slushy, snow-like consistency. Garnish with Snoballs!

This is the BEST snow cream you will ever have! I sprinkled a little coconut on top for fun. And then I drank it ALLLLLLLL!!!!

I guess to counter the Snowtini, now would be a good time to share my favorite hot chocolate recipe. I have been obsessed for a very long time with replicating the hot chocolate at City Bakery in NYC. I've tried all kinds of recipes that promised they were the real deal, but they weren't. Not even close to the smooth, rich, and thick chocolate heaven that is City Bakery's hot chocolate. And I'm not the only one obsessed with drinking their insane chocolate "soup"...there are tons of others (and here, and here are just a few) out there on the interwebs who feel the same way.

Photo from the Gothamist.

I wasn't even looking for it (in fact, I'd given up) when I saw Paula Deen's Work-a-holic Hot Chocolate recipe in a cookbook I own. I knew the recipe stood a chance when I realized you make vanilla custard and add chocolate to it...and I was right!!! I know the thickness may be too much for some people, so when I made it at the holiday brunch, I added a little more milk just to thin it down a little (just a little...to me the charm is in its thickness). The night before the brunch (since I didn't want to be stuck at the stove making hot chocolate), I made three batches and put them in the fridge in air tight containers. Then, as guests wanted hot chocolate, I heated up half a batch at a time with a little milk so it wasn't quite as thick. I also had a little Godiva Chocolate Liqueur to add for those who were interested in kicking things up a notch!

Paula Deen's Work-a-holic's Hot Chocolate

Vanilla Custard:

2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 1/2 cups milk, divided
1/2 cup sugar
2 large egg yolks
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise, or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Hot chocolate:

7 ounces (2 chocolate bars) semisweet chocolate, chopped--I used semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup milk, boiled

Directions

Sprinkle the cornstarch over 1/2 cup of the milk in a small bowl and whisk to dissolve. Add the sugar and egg yolks and whisk well.

In a heavy-bottomed medium saucepan over low heat, bring the remaining 2 cups of the milk and the vanilla bean just to a simmer. Remove the bean, scrape the vanilla seeds into the milk, and discard the bean. Gradually whisk the egg yolk mixture into the milk.

Cook, whisking often, until the sauce comes to a full boil, about 3 minutes. If using vanilla extract, stir it in now. Strain through a wire sieve into a bowl. Serve warm.

Add to the vanilla cream the chopped chocolate chunks and a boiled cup of milk. Mix until smooth. Any flavor can be added- raspberry, cinnamon, holiday ginger spice, marshmallows. The semi-sweet chocolate can be substituted with milk or white chocolate

And I guess I should go ahead and warn everyone that I received 9 cookbooks for Christmas this year. NINE! Until I can come up with a new craft project or decide to redecorate a room, there's going to be lots of cooking. So for my co-workers who read this...you've been warned. Start doing your extra sit-ups now!

Happy Holidays

2011-12-19T22:07:00.001-05:00

I'd like to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New 2012! This will be my last post of 2011, so I thought it would be best to round out the year with photos of lots of delicious food. We hosted a brunch this past weekend for some of our friends. Despite worrying about having about 40 people in my tiny house at one time, and hoping that I would be able to cook enough food for all of the people who came, I think it was a great success. I know that we enjoyed the opportunity to spend time with many people, some of whom we haven't seen at all this past year.

I found those plastic reindeer at Michael's and just spray painted them white. I just need 6 more to round out the set!

I figure it's best to start with photos of the desserts.

The menu included sweet potato brownies, ginger molasses cookies, cornflake marshmallow chocolate chip cookies (from Momofuku Milk Bar cookbook), and apple cider doughnuts from Weber Farm.

We also had a mix of fruit, biscuits, croissants (I attempted to find country ham for the biscuits, but apparently it's illegal to sell in Maryland because I couldn't find it anywhere!), bacon jam (of course), baked grits, and two different breakfast stratas. I use the basic recipe for a strata from Williams Sonoma and then just make up my own vegetable or meat mixtures (I also cube the bread instead of just placing the slices in the pan). I made a veggie strata with sun-dried tomatoes, mushrooms, and spinach, and then a meat strata with italian sausage and sun-dried tomatoes.

Don't you love those little amputated arm sign holders from Fishs Eddy? I DO!

And here are a few photos from the party...

Henry doing the dreaded "cheese" smile for the camera.

We told him to say "boogers" in this one. Much better.

Most of our friends have kids, and they're all the same age, so that really worked out well. They all played really well together and the damage to the living room was only temporary.

And to just throw one last craft project in the mix, I thought I'd share these really cute and very easy gift bags I found on Pinterest. I don't have the Fiskars machine or punches to cut out the shapes, but since I only had to make 6 of these for Henry's "fwiends" at daycare, I figured I could manage to cut them out by hand. Are they cute or what?

Happy Holidays everyone!!!!!!

Merry NYC!

2011-12-15T09:30:00.000-05:00

I had the pleasure of taking a quick trip to NYC over this past weekend. I was only there for a little over 24 hours, but I covered as much ground as I could! I did check out a few new places, in addition to my usual haunts. I always stop by Fishs Eddy, Century 21 (I went to both the original store downtown and the new one near Lincoln Center), and Strand bookstore. I took a few trips to other places I haven't visited in awhile, like Jamali Garden in the Flower District, where you can find anything you could ever need to decorate for the holidays (or any other reason/season). Here are some photos I snapped with my iphone:

I spent way too much time at the Bowery Kitchen Supply store in Chelsea Market, mostly talking myself out of buying tons of pots and pans that I'd have to lug around the the city for the rest of the day.

I did check out a few new places too. If you've never been to the B&H Photo store (I've ordered online from them for the past 10 years), you should go...if for no other reason than to check out the Willy Wonka-style operation in place once you step inside the doors. It's possible that B&H has the best and most efficient customer service of any retail location in Manhattan (outside of some of the luxury retailers on 5th Avenue). I also went to the Doughnut Plant, which has finally opened a location within a short walk of a subway stop. There is little I can say to truly describe how delicious the doughnuts are at the Doughnut Plant. They have the standard flavors that you might expect, and then they roll out seasonal varieties like gingerbread and pumpkin in the fall/winter. They are fresh and are lightly coated with a delicious glaze, some that even ooze with cream cheese or chocolate when you bite into the cake. They're not your typical filled doughnuts.

I also tried a new pizza place called Forcella, located on Bowery near the western edge of the East Village. I learned all I needed to know about this place after I read the word "fryolator" in the review in New York Magazine. I went with the friends, who I was staying with on this trip, and we shared one of the fried pizzas, the standard margherita pizza, the bruschette, and the meatballs. And then we hauled our stuffed selves to Milk Bar for dessert. Good thing I spend lots of time walking when I'm in NYC.

The brick oven at Forcella.

The Montanara Pizze Fritte at Forcella. A gorgeous fried pizza.

I also finally made it to the hipster mecca that is the Stumptown cafe in the Ace Hotel.

Stumptown in the Ace Hotel.

My cappuccino at Stumptown.

It was a great trip, and as always way too short. Here are the rest of my photos from my strolls around the city:

The famous Chelsea Hotel, which is the site of the new Doughnut Plant location.

I had the Blackout and the Chocolate Chip Cookie.

Fun details inside the Doughnut Plant.

A "Christmas Tree" in the Chelsea Market.

Chelsea Market

Near Astor Place.

Grace Church. From this angle you would never guess this little church is in the middle of the city.

Bloomingdales.

The Lady Gaga window displays at Barney's.

The Plaza.

Times Square...looks like an alien invasion down there--which is why I usually avoid it altogether.

Columbus Circle.

The New Yorker Hotel.

Macy's.

The Ace Hotel.

The Flatiron Building...one of my all time favorites.

Flatiron.

Flatiron

Art installation in the front windows of the Flatiron Building.

My other favorite building, the Chrysler Building.

Rockefeller Center.

The iconic Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center.

Holidays at Terrain

2011-12-08T09:30:00.000-05:00

Mission accomplished!!! I managed to visit Terrain at Styer's Farm once each season in 2011. Yay me! I just love everything Terrain. The nursery selection, all of the unique home decor merchandise in the retail store, and the cafe is delicious. I love all of the little details. I think that's what really draws me in...no detail is left undone. Every time you turn a corner you find another lovely vignette of natural materials used in beautiful and creative ways. I posted about my visit in the Spring, Summer, and Fall this year. So without further ado, here are photos from December 3, 2011 of Terrain in all of its holiday glory...

Every tree was perfect.

I love the cedar garland under the roof eaves. It's like green icicles.

I couldn't stop taking photos of this window.

I love the natural cotton they incorporated into some of the decorations. It seems to be the hot item right now!

I love the monotone colors in this cookie and baking themed display. I love color coordinated displays!!!!!

I also really love the jingle bell garland.

This is a really neat DIY chandelier made out of wreck canning jars and draped with cotton "snow".

One of the many, really cute, mini dioramas made out of holiday decorations and live materials.

This was my favorite tree. Maybe it's the Southern girl in me who is drawn to the cotton!

Don't you want to knock on the door to see if you can come in and sit by the fire?

Needless to say, it was hard not to return home and re-do all of my Christmas decorations. I had to buy something while I was there (and I did buy lots of other stuff) to add into what I already had going on at home, so I just added something white to the dining room:

And, just for fun, I put together these really quick desktop wallpapers from my Terrain photos. Merry Christmas!

Deck the Halls

2011-12-06T09:30:00.000-05:00

After much debate on which route to go....red? red and celedon green? just green? add in some plaid? oooo! plaid!!!....I ended up going all white this year with my Christmas decorations. I haven't gone all white in probably five years, so it was a fun change.

In the dining room, I kept the white table cloth and the natural colored (Pottery Barn) runner I had out at Thanksgiving.

I had three white ceramic pine cones from Crate and Barrell (purchased last year) and added two more Smith and Hawken pine cones that were similar (found at Target this year). Added some faux greenery and pine cones. I purchased the mercury glass votives at Target (they also have them at Crate and Barrel and West Elm). The little silver tree behind the candlesticks is from Anthropologie a few years ago.

On the sideboard, or buffet, I added a little faux greenery and filled my apothecary jars with faux snow and small, clear glass ornaments. I found the green (not live) tree at Ikea and placed it in an off-white planter I used to use on the front porch.

The ornament is from Pottery Barn.

On my demi-lune chest I switched out my more colorful plates on the plate stand with off-white ones and added a beaded garland (from Pottery Barn a few years ago....I think I even found it at the outlet). The woven balls in the white ceramic basket usually spend the year on the buffet but I moved them to this table and added some cute silvery ornaments and faux greenery.

I didn't do too much in the way of decorating in the kitchen (it's too small to do much of anything, anyway), but I did hang a simple, natural looking wreath (from Michael's...I think it's really supposed to go around a candle) on the glass door. I also threw in another of those cute little trees from Ikea.

I continued the white in the living room, and kept the decorations fairly minimal. With a toddler, it's still hard to add things to low, side tables because you'll come back later to find your lovely beaded silver decoration riding in the back of a Tonka truck.

Unfortunately, I don't have room for a full tree in my living room (without removing serious amounts of furniture, for which I have no place to store...even temporarily) so for most of the time we have lived in this house I've had this faux tree that I place on the sofa table in front of the bay window.

This year I placed the tree in a white pot from Ikea, which gave it a little more height but most importantly, I think it will keep the little guy from being able to pull it off the table. I use the round glass bowl to collect Christmas cards (that's why it's empty except for a random photo ornament that I need to re-hang). I filled the bottom of the glass bowl with three strands of white pearl garland that I didn't want to put on the tree because I thought it was starting to make it look to fussy. The lovely pruned rosemary tree I received as a hostess gift at Thanksgiving needs to reside in this area to get the sun it needs, so I just placed it in a neutral basket until I can think of a more creative way to deal with it.

On top of the bookcase, I wrapped my multi-colored antique books in coordinating paper. I pulled over these two small vases (from Crate and Barrel) that were in the kitchen and added stems with gray berries from Michael's.

For my "mantel" (top of the TV cabinet), I added faux greenery and two neutral trees (I think they're both from Target). In my large mercury glass vase, I added tree branches that I had my husband clip for me. I also had him spray paint them white while he was out in the yard and then I placed three silver snowflake ornaments (from Wal-mart and left over from my Pottery Barn-inspired wreath project) in a cluster to one side.

I even put up a decoy, can't-be-destroyed, tree for Henry. I placed it in his very messy kitchen area.

Outside, I kept with the neutral theme.

I added a silver snowflake from the Smith and Hawken outdoor Christmas collection at Target. And hung my Pottery Barn-inspired snowflake wreath on the front door.

In the charcoal gray planter, I placed lighted willow branches (from Target a few years ago) and some pine boughs I snipped from a tree in the alley behind our house. I forsee that tree getting lots of "pruning" in the near future.

In keeping with my renewed interest in photography, and improving my skills, I played around with some shots of all the twinkling holiday lights. Like a zillion other people, I saw this post on Pinterest about taking photos of your tree and how to capture the glow of the lights so I thought I'd give it a whirl too.

See, I even captured some of the starbust lights! You don't have to buy that starburst filter for your camera lens after all.

I also attempted to capture a photo of my toddler gazing at the lights on the tree. This is what I ended up with:

I did get this though:

I also played around with the same technique outside. Unfortunately, we have a street light out front and that light, sadly, has a really gross orange tinted light.

So, there you have it! Decking the halls for 2011 has been accomplished. Now, I suppose it's time to move onto being jolly. Fa la la la la!

Be sure to check out a small update I made to my holiday decor after a recent trip to Terrain at Styer's Farm and after our Holiday Brunch!

Point and Shoot

2011-12-01T09:30:00.000-05:00

This is the first post in a long time that isn't going to be about cooking or crafting. I had a little fun over the weekend pretending to be a professional photographer when a friend wanted a few shots of her family for Christmas gifts. Jerusalem Mill village, just across the Baltimore County line in Harford County, was the setting. And I guess I knew I was on the right track, when I showed up at about 10am last Saturday on a perfectly partially sunny day to find four other actual professional photographers shooting all over the place.

I wish I had more time to work on my photography skills, and maybe get back to shooting fully manually all the time, but lack of brain power (full time job, toddler, crafting and cooking, etc) sometimes leads to shooting with those little camera presets. I also want to do a better job of photos for tutorials and other projects I post on the blog. Lighting is always an issue, since it's usually 10pm when I'm doing these things. I'm going to work on improving those in the future. I find lots of inspiration online from other non-professional photographers who enjoy playing around with their cameras as I do, as well as from others who are professional and who are amazing.

So here are my shots....

And then after I got seriously carried away in Photoshop...

I think they (the "before" shots) turned out pretty well! And I can see how easy it could be to use Photoshop for evil instead of good. In my defense, I never get to do anything fun in Photoshop at work and I rarely have the time to go nuts with my own photos.

BUT before you leave, be sure to check out a fun new blog by one of my favorite 6 year olds. It promises to be VERY entertaining.....

I am six years old. I have a blog. Check out my saw.

...maybe even a little scary. I'm pretty sure that you'll learn something.

Small Things

2011-11-29T09:30:00.000-05:00

I just thought I'd share a few DIY Christmas gift projects I worked on over the weekend. These are fairly simple and inexpensive crafts that make great gifts for the holidays!

Clay Gift Tags

I haven't tried anything with clay (of the earthen or polymer varieties) since an art class in college. I'm not so good with modeling clay into something like an animal or a specific shape. I'm lacking that gene along with the ability-to-do-math-gene. I CAN roll clay out flat and cut it with a cookie cutter and stamp it with something. Like a cookie! Oh yes, I know about cookies!!!! Following this tutorial, you too can make these cute little tags that you can use for gifts or ornaments (or gift tags that are ornaments!).

I just purchased two blocks of white Sculpey polymer clay. I pulled out other things I have my craft supplies like stamps, ink pads, paint (not pictured), clay tools.

I bought a cookie sheet at the Dollar Tree that I could use only for the purpose of baking this clay. You don't want to place it on a surface that you would ever place food. The same rule applies for the tools you use. I cut mine out with a set of round fondant cutters I found in the cake decorating aisle at Michael's. I used craft stamps for the initials and other decorative elements on the tags, and a straw cuts out a perfect hole for ribbon to tie them onto a package or to hang.

After baking.

Once they cooled, I decided to use paint (same technique as the tutorial), to add a little dimension to the tags. Using very little paint on a dry brush, I filled in the impression left by the stamp, and then with a dry towel wiped away the excess.

I used silver jump rings that you use in jewelry making, to make it easier to attach ribbon to the top. This is totally optional because you could run the ribbon through the hole with no problem.

Girls' Headbands and Hats

This is a project I just made up as I went along. I need a few gifts for little girls and thought I could use some things I already have to embellish store bought hats and headbands. I snagged the hats and headbands at Walmart. The hats were about $1.30 and the headbands were four for about $3.

I pulled the bow and pink flower off the headbands and then attached leftover rolled-rose flowers I made a year ago for another project.You can find a tutorial for making the flowers here.

I also pulled out some feathers and the feathery yarn shown at the top of this photo.

I wrapped the feathery yarn around the side of one of the headbands. I just glued it on either end to the headbands.

Then glued the flower on top of that.

I did the same for these:

For the hats, I sewed the rolled roses, in groups of three, directly onto the hats. I put a small piece of dark pink felt on the back side of the roses (inside the hat) and pulled my stitches from the roses, through the hat, and then through the felt so the stitches wouldn't pop through the woven fabric.

And that was it! Some very cute gifts that only took a little bit of time, but I hope they'll be looking very cute on a few little girls this holiday season.

New Thanksgiving Traditions

2011-11-22T09:30:00.001-05:00

With only a few days to go, I thought I would share some of the fun Thanksgiving ideas I've found on Pinterest, in case you find yourself with tons of time on your hands and wish to take on a new recipe or two, and maybe even a craft project!

My decoration is minimal this year. I've stuck to neutrals and used my velvet pumpkins, pine cones, and candles for my centerpiece.

With my little guy, slightly more aware of holidays this year, I thought I should try to incorporate something into the decor for him (and that he can play with too).

I found the idea for the Pilgrims and Indians, shown above, on Pinterest.

They were really easy to make. I just collected toliet paper cores (you could use paper towel cores too). For the set above I used four toliet paper cores for the adults and cut one core in half for the child. I just wrapped the cores in scrapbook paper, hot gluing it onto the cardboard core. I just drew the faces on with a Sharpie marker. And I just sort of winged it with the hats for the pilgrims. I figure these things are likely to last about 3 minutes in the hands of my 2 year old, so I didn't feel the need to spend too much time on them.

Now, on to more important things....alcoholic beverages. Check out this delicious holiday beverage that you could serve hot or cold.

Another Pinterest find, I followed this recipe for the Apple, Ginger, and Cranberry Vodka Cocktail. I had vanilla vodka at home so I used that and it was fantastic. When that runs out I'll probably be making these with bourbon. I'm planning to drink them all day long.

Finally, I have fallen in love with this recipe for Cranberry Salsa from the November 2011 issue of Southern Living. Is this the prettiest salsa you've ever seen or what???

The recipe is very simple. Rise a bag of cranberries. Cut up a navel orange (zest it beforehand), then coarsely chop candied ginger.

Also chop 2 jalapenos, and some cilantro (the orange zest is in the middle below).

Throw the cranberries in your food processor until they're nicely chopped and look like this:

Place the chopped cranberries in a bowl. Next, put the other pre-chopped ingredients with a cup of sugar into the empty food processor until they're finely chopped and blended together. Stir them into the cranberries and voila! You're done! Leave in the fridge at least 2 hours, or overnight, and enjoy with tortilla chips (or anything else you desire to dip into it).

I hope you have a fantastic Thanksgiving!!!

Pottery Barn-inspired Winter Wreath

2011-11-17T09:30:00.000-05:00

Now that Halloween is over it's time to get in high gear for the holidays, so November is my prime holiday crafting time. If possible, I generally prefer to have all of my holiday-related crafting done before Thanksgiving. It helps with the whole "sanity" front I try to maintain. If I could, I'd do all my holiday cooking in July and my crafting in March. I like to enjoy the time from Thanksgiving through New Year's Eve. I actually enjoy Christmas music and decorations, going to holiday parties, wrapping gifts, and watching all the random Christmas movies on TV. I'm glad that Pottery Barn had their holiday catalog out before Halloween this year. It was very considerate of them to take my crafting ~~insanity~~ schedule into account. I was just flipping through the catalog when I saw this wreath:

Pottery Barn Jeweled Crystal Wreath

So pretty!!!!

And for only $70 you can have a 13-inch one! Hmmm. Yeah, I think not. I'm pretty sure I can make that for less than $70.

This wreath really appeals to me (in addition to being GORGEOUS) because of its neutral color and theme. I usually go with seasonal wreaths, in lieu of holiday wreaths, on my front door. So my winter wreath goes up from the day after Thanksgiving through the end of February.

So, in order to make some gorgeousness happen on my front door for less than $70, this is what I did:

I bought a wreath form at Michael's. I should have measured it, but I think it's about 14-inches or so.

Then I took it apart.

Using wire cutters, I just clipped off the inside wire ring and the outside wire ring. It was pretty easy because they were held by wire pieces that were just bent around them.

And painted it.

Well, I didn't actually "paint" it. I started this project and then realized I used all my silver spray paint on the curtain rods in my bedroom. So I found a silver Sharpie and used that. I just wanted to make sure that the front of the wire was silver, and not green, in case it would show through the snowflakes once they were attached.

For the snowflakes, I just went in search of ornaments. Knowing I would need about 12 (I ended up using 11), I tried to find snowflake ornaments that didn't cost a fortune. I was hoping that I wouldn't have to post about my $70 Pottery Barn-inspired wreath, which cost only $100.

The silver starburst ornaments at the top are from Dollar Tree. The snowflake ornaments in the middle are from Crate & Barrel (they were too cute to pass up) and were $3. And the metal snowflakes on the bottom are from Target. I think they were $2. So for the ornaments, about $25 or less. The wire wreath form was about $3 (I had a coupon). I can safely say, I made this wreath for less than $30.

After removing all the tags and string or ribbon from the ornaments, I hot glued them to my wreath form. I also used thin gauge floral wire to wire them securely to the wreath form. Since they were oddly shaped and they weren't being glued to a flat, wide surface, I felt that reinforcing them with a little wire wasn't a bad idea. So about 10 minutes later, I had this:

My wreath isn't as delicate as the original Pottery Barn inspiration. I had a hard time finding beaded snowflake ornaments that were less than $6 each. So, I just decided to select ones that I liked, within my wreath budget (trying not to go over $30). Right before I made the wreath, I got the new West Elm holiday catalog in the mail, and I think that may have led to my more mod-style ornament selection. I'm in love with those starburst ornaments and thankfully they had those babies at the Dollar Tree!

Here she is on my front door!

Socky the Snowman

2011-11-15T09:30:00.000-05:00

For the holidays this year, it looks like most of my gifts are going to be food-related. Specifically, it looks like I'm going to be making a TON of bacon jam. Unfortunately, while bacon jam will keep in the fridge for a few months, it's not something I'm ready to start making in mass quantities just yet. I only have a few other gifts to make for people who would really prefer I give them something handmade than store-bought. So, on pinterest (of course), I saw these:

They're not the usual Sadie Priss-sort of craft, but it's a gift for someone else. Someone who collects snowmen. And the tutorial (which is very easy to follow) is here. So this is what I did, to end up with these in less than an hour...

Following the tutorial, I bought cheap white men's socks at Walmart and two pairs of cute ankle socks ($1.50 each) at Target.

To make one snowman, I cut one white sock and each of the blue socks (per instructions in the tutorial). I did this same thing to make the snowman with the gray sweater and hat.

The white sock is the body, the sock that is open at both ends is the sweater, and the sock with just the heel cut off is the hat.

I did sew the end closed (this step wasn't in the tutorial but I had a hard time trusting that the rubber band would hold all that rice FOREVER), and then wrapped it with the rubber band to hold it tight.

Filled it with rice, then held the top together with a rubber band, and then also stitched the top closed. Obviously, I have trust issues with rubber bands.

I added one sock to the body as a little snowman sweater, and the other as a hat. And tied with string, as directed.

I added (with hot glue) tiny black buttons for eyes and a few buttons down the front of the "sweater". I also colored the end of a bbq skewer with a orange marker and glued it on for the "carrot" nose. And just to be safe, I hot glued the hat onto the head of the snowman. It fits pretty tightly, but I will have to eventually ship these boogers so a little hot glue never hurts!

The blue is cute but that gray one is my favorite!

Windows 2.0

2011-11-10T09:30:00.000-05:00

As I mentioned a few days ago, on my master bedroom update post, the curtains were a partially completed project. I bought them, I unpacked them, and then I hung them with no ironing or hemming, knowing that an upgrade was going to happen immediately.

All wrinkly and blah.

Back when I was pinning things like a crazy person for changing up things in the dining room, I kept pinning photos of lovely neutral curtains with a little trim along one or both sides of the panels.

Before I started searching the internet for trim, I thought I'd check the local Joann's Fabric trim section especially since I had a 40% off coupon. I was thrilled to find that not only did they have a nice wide greek key-patterned trim, but it was in colors that would work in my new bedroom!

A silver-y aqua greek key on a chocolate brown background.

I needed 6 yards, so with the coupon, I got the trim for $23. I grabbed a little Stitch Witchery too (iron-on fusible webbing tape that you use to bond two pieces of fabric together), with a plan to iron that gorgeousness straight onto the curtains I bought at Ikea.

First, I had to hem the curtains. I wanted them a little long and to pool on the floor, so I just folded up the bottom of the panels about half an inch or so. I used the hemming without sewing (unless you want to) method, also outlined here. And here. The curtains from Ikea come pre-packaged with enough Stitch Witchery tape to hem each panel.

To attach the greek-key trim, I just ran two strips of the fusible tape (since I couldn't find the tape in a width that matched the width of the trim) along the inside edge of the panel.

Then, working in about 2-foot sections at a time, I held the trim in place while I slowly applied heat with my iron until it bonded. The trim is woven and a little thicker than ribbon or cotton fabric, so it took a few passes with the iron and a little pressure to get it to stick to the curtain. For the ends, I just let about two inches of the trim hang off the top and bottom of the panel until I was done applying the trim along the side of the panel. Once I was done with that, I turned the panel over, folding over the trim, and ironing to the back side using the fusible tape just as I did along the front.

It took about an hour and a half to do both panels, but that includes hemming the bottom and then ironing the curtains after the trim was attached. It was worth it! For about $40 I have these:

So dreamy...

Whoopie!

2011-11-08T09:30:00.000-05:00

Whoopie pies are the new black. I'm pretty sure of this. They may even be the new cupcake. They're everywhere and I'm pretty sure they can't be stopped. I've never made them before and thought maybe I should. I mean, we are pretty close to Lancaster, PA, and those Amish folks do claim the whoopie pie as their own.

Thanks to the awesomeness that is Pinterest, I found a link for Pumpkin and Maple Cream Cheese Whoopie Pies recipe here.

I must say, that not only did they taste fantastic, they turned out much prettier than I ever imagined!!!

I followed the recipe this time with only a few minor changes. I doubled the amount of spices (the cinnamon and ginger) and was pleased with the result. The cookies would have been bland (to me) had I not made that adjustment. My readers who tasted them can weigh in on that in the comment section!

I used my small cookie scoop to put the dough on the pans. I knew using this method was the only way I stood a chance of getting cookies the same size. I just hoped it would also result in cookies with a rounded shape. Also, whenever I bake cookies, I ALWAYS use my Pampered Chef baking stones. ALWAYS. If I had Silpat Cookie Sheet Liners I'd use those, but with the issues I have with my oven, I can't use a straight cookie sheet.

It worked!

Once I saw that the cookies looked perfect, I wanted to make sure I didn't make the filling look messy. So before I squished the two cookies together with the filling in the middle, I sort of formed it onto one cookie and smoothed the sides a bit. Then pressed the two together so the filling then just spread out in the formed shape.

Ta da!

I would absolutely make these again!

In other, non-whoopie pie related news, I thought I'd share a little cinematic masterpiece created by my friend, Candy's husband, who is obviously a skilled filmmaker.

I bet you'll never guess which phone is me!

Master Bedroom Makeover

2011-11-03T09:30:00.000-04:00

So, it's taken a month or two but I've finally (almost) finished updating the master bedroom. We've lived in the house since 2004 and I never painted our bedroom. The color wasn't horrible, sort of a yellowy-beige, but it was kind of dull and boring. Then, thanks to our neighbors hacking down a huge maple tree in front of our house, the blazing afternoon sun began bleaching out my curtains and the coverlet on the bed. I bought them at Pottery Barn a few years ago and still love them, but I am kind of ready for a change.

BEFORE

I have pretty decent bedroom furniture. It's only a few years old.

I have lots of decorative items that I can work into the new plan. My lamps are neutral. The art on the walls is neutral. Unfortunately, despite the small size of my room (and the lack of storage anywhere else in my house for ANYTHING), all this furniture has to stay where it is. It's an insane amount of furniture for a small space.

That bookcase on the left is here temporarily, but that may be "temporary" for 6 months to a year, not one week sort of temporary. I plan to paint it and move it into my son's room.

Those funny hanging things at the top of the photo are the ceiling fan pulls (I should have cropped those out of the photo!).

Until I can get down to NC and scour the furniture outlets, this white marble topped table is my nightstand. I need to find one to go with the rest of the bedroom furniture (Broyhill's Charlestowne line...which is no longer in production). It was a table I had down in the basement, that happened to be same height as the other nightstand.

INSPIRATION

I started mulling over color schemes back in August and pinned some lovely bedroom inspiration over at Pinterest. I noticed that most of the rooms I liked had grey walls. So thinking grey and knowing that I have entire room of dark furniture, along with little money to do anything along the lines of a total re-do, I started coming up with ideas to use things that I already have. Then lo and behold I received a Ballard Designs Catalog in the mail about a month ago and saw these:

Lots of grey and dark browns. Not what you expect to be paired with gray. Also a little white. I like the addition of the terra cotta/rust color but I kind of have that going on downstairs already.

Another good mix of unsuspecting neutrals with a pop of color.

But it was this color scheme that caught my eye, because I knew I could make it happen on a budget (more on that here).

I also noticed similar color palates in Crate & Barrel's most recent catalog:

So here is where I went with all of this:

AFTER

I painted the walls Graceful Gray (Behr paint). It looks a little darker here than it is in real life. In person it looks more like the gray shown on the walls in the Ballard Designs catalog pages above (they obviously have a much better staff photographer).

I found these pillows at HomeGoods. The front pillow has a pretty mix of gray and light aqua. The two rectangular pillows are a sage velvet. I purchased the white duvet and cover at Ikea (Alvine Stra). I already had the sage pillowcases and the aqua throw I used on the end of the bed.

I painted the metal wall hanging, that was off-white and hanging above the bed in the "before"
photos, Oil Rubbed Bronze. I hung it above the dresser and then placed
the Anthropologie-inspired piece I made a few weeks ago in front of it.

Nothing new to report here. I framed a piece of Amy Butler fabric in a white Ikea frame (something I already had) to the desk for a little more color. Please ignore wrinkly curtains, those will be remedied soon.

So, yeah, that ugly bookcase is still there. Something is getting ready to happen to make it less disgusting. I'm not sure what just yet, but it can't stay this way much longer.

I purchased these white curtains at Ikea. I would post a link to them but I can't seem to find these on the website. They're plain white and it was $14.99 for both.

I spray painted my existing curtain rods Silver Nickel Satin, then popped off the old finials and replaced those with modern clear glass finials I also found at Ikea ($5.99).

Something has to happen with this thing. Do I upgrade the fan, like I did in the kitchen? It's nice to have a fan in my room in the summer. Or do I get a really pretty light fixture and just sweat in the summer?

So there you have it! I have a few more projects to do in order to wrap this thing up. I need something to hang over the bed, and have been working on some ideas for that. I also need to upgrade the curtains a bit (the plans are already in the works for that to happen this weekend). Finally, I need to deal with the issues of the ceiling fan and that bookcase. All in all, I think I probably spent about $200 or so, which isn't bad at all for changing up an entire room!

Party like it's 1802

2011-11-01T09:30:00.000-04:00

I picked up The Bucolic Plague (the book, not a disease) at the library not intending to enjoy it. I take that back. It wasn't that I was planning to read something I thought would bore me to tears, it's just that given the subject matter and the title, I just figured it was long-winded story of how you, too, can be a better person by buying and running an organic farm. I loved the book! Yeah, it has undertones of the trials and tribulations one may encounter when embarking on the task of becoming a gentleman farmer, but it is really a very well written and quite funny story of real life on a small farm.

I remember seeing the book in my local Williams-Sonoma back in the spring. Then earlier this week the Beekman Farm popped back on my radar when I was glancing through the recent issue of Country Living. The Fabulous Beekman Boys are two guys from Manhattan who purchase a farm in upstate New York, and then commit to bringing the run-down farm and house (built in 1802) back to life. The book turned out to be very funny, regardless of whether or not you care about such things as heirloom plants or organic farming or killing your first Thanksgiving turkey with your bare hands. I really loved the tidbits that were planted throughout the book, which provide an insider's glimpse into the "real" Martha Stewart (Brent Ridge, one of the two men, is a former Martha Stewart Omnimedia employee). I will spare you of my lame attempt to highlight some of the humor and the charming tales of life down on the Beekman Farm, but it's worth your while to read an excerpt of the book here. Farming eventually lead Josh and Brent to develop a very Martha-style omnimedia empire, developing a lifestyle brand called Beekman 1802 which includes the website, books, blogs, forums, and a TV show.

Beekman 1802

The Fabulous Beekman Boys have recently released a cookbook of heirloom recipes, The Beekman 1802 Heirloom Cookbook. The recipes focus on using heirloom produce and organic ingredients, giving home-cooking a 21st century farmhouse spin. And, just in time for Thanksgiving, some of their recipes were featured in this month's (November 2011) issue of Country Living magazine.

One of the recipes featured in the magazine was a Honey Apple Pie with Rosemary. I love rosemary and I love apple pie, so I thought I'd give it a whirl. Since the recipe isn't posted on the Beekman site or the Country Living site, I can't (unless I want to get in sued) post the recipe here. After a little "internet research" I found that their recipe was VERY similar to this recipe (which I can post and link to since it's already been posted):

Honey Apple Pie with Thyme originally posted back in 2006 in the New York Times.

3 golden delicious apples, peeled and cored
4 granny smith apples, peeled and cored
1/2 cup honey
6 thyme branches
1/2 cup unsalted butter cut into small pieces
2 T instant tapioca
1/3 c light brown sugar
1/2 t ground ginger
1/4 t salt
flour for dusting
dough for 2 9 inch pie crusts.

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Slice Golden Delicious apples and 3 granny smith apples into sixths.
2. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, bring 14 cup honey to a boil. Let simmer about 2 minutes, until honey is caramelized. Add 3 thyme branches. Arrange half the apples in a single layer in skillet. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons butter over apples. Cook apples, turning until well caramelized on all sides, but not cooked through, about ten minutes. Scrape apples and honey mixture into a bowl. Add tapioca and toss to combine. Repeat cooking process with remaining honey, thyme, butter and sliced apples. Add a second batch of apples to bowl, combine. Discard all thyme branches.
3. thinly slice remaining granny smith apple and add it to bowl. Stir in sugar, ginger and salt
4. On a lightly floured surface roll out both crusts to a 12 inch circle. Place one crust in 9 inch pie plate. Scrape apple filling into crust and top with remaining crusts.
5. Bake for 15 minutes, reduce heat to 350 and continue baking about 45 min. Let cool for 30 minutes before slicing.

So, taking that recipe, here are my changes to make a Honey and Rosemary Apple Pie...

Crust
I didn't make the crust. If you want to make a pie crust and have time, go for it. I used a store-bought crust.

Pie Filling (this is enough to make one deep dish 9 inch pie or two regular 9 inch pies)

4 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, sliced

4 Honey Crisp apples, peeled, cored, sliced

1 cup light brown sugar

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground nutmeg

½ teaspoon ground cloves

2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh rosemary (I will probably use 3-4 teaspoons of rosemary next time...it wasn't rosemary-enough for me)

3 tablespoons instant tapioca

½ cup honey

2 tablespoons butter

1 large egg, lightly beaten with 1 teaspoon water (this is the egg wash for the top of the crust)

Cinnamon and sugar (for sprinkling top of pie crust)

In a bowl, combine apples with brown sugar,spices, and tapioca.

Add honey and stir until combined.

Preheat oven to 400. Place crust in 9 inch pie pan. Add pie filling to pan. And dot with 2 tablespoons of butter (not melted).

Place second crust over top of pie. I have a leaf-shaped cookie cutter that I like to use to cut out the crust for the top of the pie.

Brush egg wash over crust, sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar.

Bake pie on middle rack of oven .After 20 minutes remove pie and cover edge of crust with foil. Continue to bake until juices are bubbling 50 minutes more. Cool on wire rack.

The pie was fantastic! I loved the addition of rosemary, even if it wasn't enough rosemary for me. I'll play with it on the second try to see if I can add more rosemary without over-doing it.

Street food

2011-10-27T09:30:00.000-04:00

The street food trend just keeps growing. Everywhere I go, or look, there is news of a new food truck or a restaurant specializing in street food. Over the weekend, I went to Paladar in the Annapolis Towne Centre at Parole (primarily because there was a sign advertising a Rum Bar and I've had a cold and sore throat for over 4 days now and rum seemed appealing).

A dark and stormy should fix things!

The restaurant has a happy hour menu that features "Latin street food"...which is sort of a mix of all kinds of things that may not be actual "street food", but it's cute that they're catering to a trend. The black bean empanadas I had, along with an entire bowl of gucamole, were delish!

So on this topic of being surrounded by "street food" wherever I seem to go, I was in The Fresh Market recently and spotted this:

Lucini Cinque e' Cinque

Now even the pasta companies are joining the bandwagon. It sounded intriguing so I thought I'd give it a whirl. I've had other products by Lucini and they were all very good, so I figured this wouldn't be a bust. Of course, I first had to Google the word farinata to see what exactly I purchased. It was described as a flat bread made of chickpea flour and is common in Italy, as well as southern France (where it is called socca). And as a logical next step, I searched Pinterest for posts containing the word farinata or socca. Most of the recipes used the baked farinata as a base for creating a sauce-less pizza.

This is what I did with mine:

Just one quick not about preparing the farinata...the directions have you placing the pan (I used a round metal cookie/pizza pan--with sides) in the oven first and then while it's hot pour the batter into the pan. Be very careful doing this. The directions don't mention that you might burn yourself as the batter sizzles when it hits the very hot pan. And make sure you pull the hot pan out of the oven and place it on a flat heat-resistant surface.

So here it is straight out of the oven (ignore the burned edges on the far side of the pan, we can blame that on my oven/me chasing a toddler around while it was baking and not being good about checking the oven). While it was baking I lightly sauteed a zucchini and some sun-dried tomatoes with pancetta.

Then I topped my farinata with the veggies, sprinkled it with parmesan cheese, and fresh ground black pepper (which was suggested in other recipes and on the package).

Very tasty and apparently good for you too!

Definitely give it a try if you spot it at the grocery store. The Fresh Market carried the rosemary (which I used) and a traditional variety, but a fiery Tuscan chili option is listed on the website. Buon appetito!

Tasty Cake

2011-10-25T09:30:00.000-04:00

I've been avoiding this cookbook for an entire year. I avoided it at Barnes & Noble. I avoided it at the library. And then I caved. It's Fall and I'm all in my crazy Fall cooking and baking mode, so I couldn't resist.

It's a great book of southern-inspired desserts with a modern twist here and there. I need to make a point to visit Baked (FYI don't click that link if you're starving...it will be the end of you) next time I'm in NYC.

There is a Sweet & Salty Brownie recipe I want to try. And the Buttermilk Pie. Be glad I don't have a photo of the Double-Chocolate Loaf with Peanut Butter Cream Cheese Spread. Then there are the Marshmallow Chocolate Cups. See...there is a reason I was avoiding this book!

So I wanted to try the Burnt Sugar Bundt Cake with the Caramel Rum Icing because I haven't made a bundt cake in a long time and thought I'd like to give it a whirl again. Amy Atlas posted the full recipe on her blog back in January. I won't go through a step by step, but I did take some photos of my progress.

If you had smell-o-vision you would know that this batter smells like the buttery-est cake you have ever imagined. You could could just make this batter and set it out as an air freshener.

In the recipe, they say to "pour" the batter into the pan. That's not happening. It's insanely thick, so you just have to spoon it into the pan and then spread it out.

Now, let's take that extremely buttery, sugary cake batter and heat it up! Now the entire neighborhood is going to smell like the most delicious smelling cake you've ever imagined.

In my highly dysfunctional oven, it took this behemoth an hour to bake. And then I had to let it cool over night before I could even think of getting it out of the pan. The next morning it popped right out!

I definitely suggest making the caramel shards for the top of the cake. Not only are they a cool decoration to the top of the cake, they add a nice crunch too. I didn't have a silpat, as they suggest in the recipe, so I just used a piece of parchment paper (I was afraid to use wax because I thought since you're pouring boiling sugar onto it, the wax might meld into the sugar and that would be gross.

So, here is the final cake! The icing was very runny because I set it out to warm up a bit (I made it the night before while I was baking the cake), while I was getting ready for work. By the time I got ready, after chasing around a 2 year old, it was not as chilled as it should have been so it ran down the sides of the cake. That is totally my fault. If you make the icing according to the recipe, it turns out nice and thick and would spread as perfectly as it is shown in the photo in the book (and on Amy Atlas' blog).

I know better than to keep something like this around the house, so I took it into work to be tested by my official taste-testers. I had tons of compliments and about ten people told me it was the best cake they ever had. It was really good and definitely something I would make again for a special occasion, but it's not a quick cake to make with making the burnt sugar syrup, then the batter from scratch, the baking time, making the icing, the caramel sugar shards, and then assembling the whole thing. In other good news, they do sell some of the Baked cake mixes (but not this one) at Williams Sonoma if you're interested in trying something but don't have half your life to devote to it. And while you're over at Williams Sonoma please also notice that they're now selling a SWEET POTATO BISCUIT MIX!!!!!!

Autumn Earrings

2011-10-20T09:30:00.000-04:00

Taking inspiration from two new Fall scarves I recently purchased (one on sale at Target and one at Nordstrom Rack), I pulled out my jewelry supplies and made a few new pairs of earrings. A few to sell, a few for upcoming birthday gifts.

I found this really pretty pumpkin colored scarf at Nordstrom Rack last week.

I really love using these long kidney wire earrings. Some people don't like them because the earrings are too long. I have a mix of sizes so I did a few of the standard long ones (1.5 inch) and a few using shorter ones (1 inch), that I purchased off Etsy a few years ago. On a recent trip to Hobby Lobby, I came across these metal findings that look very organic and stem-like so I thought they'd be perfect with Fall colors.

I purchased this really cute leopard print scarf off the clearance rack at Target for $9.99! I like that it's light weight and a girl can always use a little leopard print and it's very popular right now!

I did a pair playing up the browns.

And then with the black.

I love them all! How am I going to give them away or sell them? Good thing I made two sets of each. :)

A little inspiration goes a long way..

2011-10-18T09:30:00.000-04:00

I always look forward/dread the arrival of all the holiday catalogs from places like Crate & Barrel, Pottery Barn, and Ballard Designs. While I love Crate & Barrel and Pottery Barn, it's usually in the Ballard Designs catalog that I find my most inspiration. Over the weekend I came across this page in the Late Fall 2011 catalog and fell in love with the color combination of the slate grey velvet with the muted aqua, tan, and sage green. So I'm going to use that to guide the update of the master bedroom (to be posted soon!).

Go here and torture yourself with all of their catalogs!

So immediately, I started looking through the catalog to see what things I could find in stores like Hobby Lobby, Home Goods Target, or online, that cost less but would achieve the same look. I was able to find pillows and sheets at Home Goods (more on that later), and I'll be able to incorporate some of the blue items that I already have in the master bedroom. As I was walking around Hobby Lobby, I noticed that there are tons of Ballard-inspired items that you could get for half the Ballard price (or even less). Most of the store is usually 40% off and if it's not, you can sign up online for coupons and get coupons for things that aren't on sale. I'm not sure if they honor other coupons from places like Michaels or Joann's Fabric and Crafts, but I have a feeling they probably do. Another resource I stumbled upon recently is the SaveOnCrafts website. You can find all kinds of supplies to pull off a Ballard or even Terrain-inspired decor.

I put together two quick collections of items I found at Hobby Lobby and SaveOnCrafts that I thought I'd share. The Hobby Lobby website only sells a tiny sample of what you'll find in the store. It's well worth the trip to the store. You can spend WEEKS browsing through the goodies at SaveOnCrafts. It's probably a good thing there isn't a store. And don't forget Art.com for prints. I have really good luck finding things I'd never find at Target or Home Goods and it's generally much cheaper to buy the print and frame it yourself.

From Hobby Lobby and Art.com

From Hobby Lobby…

1. Rectangle pillow with writing $29.99

2. Square pillow with writing $34.99

3. Set of 3 wire baskets $20.97

4. Brown glass (tortoise shell) urn $39.99

5. 20” round antique copper mirror $39.99

6. 14” round brown mirror $19.99

7. Fleur-de-lis $15.99

8. Square plaque $11.99

9. Glass pot belly vase $59.99

10. Metal lantern $15.99

11. 22” starburst mirror (only shown on website in gold but therewere silver ones in the store) $49.99

From art.com ….

12. Eruption, Pompeiiby Elizabeth Jardine $63.99

13. Pompeian Teal by Elizabeth Jardine on sale! $11.98

I thought I'd throw together a few things that you could mix into your existing holiday decorations to pull off something very Ballard or Terrain-inspired this year.

From SaveOnCrafts

1. Script roses 6 for $23.00

2. Wire pyramid cloches 2 for $29.00

3. Tin finial $30.00

4. Mercury glass apothecary jar $25.00

5. Driftwood tree $39.00 (they have the exact same ones in the Ballard Designs catalog)

6. Artichoke topiary $22.00

7. 3 wrought iron stars $28.00

8. Plaid linen ribbon 17 feet $15.99

9. Wired moss vine 6 feet $3.99

10. Silk bay laurel leaf wreath $19.00

11. 3 Preserved Cypresswreaths $45.00

12. 11 feet Italian double-faced red velvet ribbon $20.00

13. Baker’s twine 60 feet $6.99

14. 12 white boxes $4.19

I hope to get the master bedroom painted soon so I can share some photos!

Fall Dinner

2011-10-14T09:30:00.000-04:00

I just thought I'd share a few recipes I used over the past weekend when we had friends over for dinner. Two are new and one is an oldie, but a goodie!

SMOKED PAPRIKA PORK

I tried the Smoked Paprika Pork Tenderloin recipe that was in October's Southern Living magazine. I highly recommend it! Using the grill made things much easier than doing this in a crockpot or the oven, which is why I selected the recipe in the first place.

My adjustments to the recipe are:
I used garlic powder in the rub instead of a crushed garlic clove.
I added wood chips to smoke things up in the grill.
I skipped tying the tenderloin up with string and it was fine. I don't think you cook it long enough to encounter an issue of the meat starting to fall away (and it's not on the bone to begin with...maybe these people just like tying things with string?).
I also didn't make the BBQ sauce. I had some sauce from 12 Bones (in Asheville, NC) so I used that. I'm pretty sure any brown sugar based BBQ sauce you have or buy will be fine.

Tying things with string for no reason....making your own BBQ sauce...really people? I don't have time for that.

SWEET POTATO CASSEROLE
I also thought I'd share my sweet potato casserole recipe, since friends often ask for it. The problem with those requests is that I don't really use a recipe. I mean, I think I did in the beginning, but now I just sort of make it up as I go along. Here is the closest thing to a real recipe with measurements I could find.

Here is my Amy-style recipe:
1. Wash and cut into half about 6-8 sweet potatoes (you want enough mashed sweet potatoes to fill about half of your casserole dish)...so you get about 4-6 cups of mashed sweet potatoes. If you cook too many, then you have some left to make sweet potato brownies!
2. Cook them in boiling water for about 20 minutes or so, until they're soft and the skin is loose but not coming off in the water
3. Drain them and let them cool, then remove skins and mash them
4. Whisk together two eggs. Add some vanilla. Some sugar if you want. You can add some milk too. Then start mixing in the sweet potatoes. I usually add some cinnamon and maybe some nutmeg.
5. Grease a casserole dish. Spread out the sweet potato mixture evenly.
6. In a separate bowl mix together about 2 cups of chopped pecans (you want to cover the entire top of the sweet potatoes in the casserole dish so you'll need this much), a cup of brown sugar, about 2 tablespoons of all purpose flour, some cinnamon, ground cloves, ground ginger (maybe a teaspoon of each depending on how "spicy" you want it). Then melt a stick of butter and pour it into the nut mixture until it's fully incorporated. Spread the nut mixture over the top of the sweet potatoes in the casserole dish.
7. Place in oven at 350 and cook for about 30 minutes. Until the edges are starting to brown. Just check it occasionally. You don't want the pecans to burn.

If you want to add the marshmallow on top, and I do this sometimes, I just buy the plain mini marshmallows (I do want to try spreading a layer of marshmallow fluff on top one time!). Sprinkle the marshmallows on top of the cooked casserole and put it back in the oven under the broiler for a few minutes. You really have to keep a close eye on the casserole under the broiler because the marshmallows burn quickly and you want them just lightly browned on top.

'SMORES
I saw this recipe on Pinterest last week and thought I'd give it a try, but I'm not making marshmallow fluff or my own graham crackers. So I bought a jar of marshmallow fluff and a box of graham crackers. They now sell graham crackers in boxes with four sleeves instead of two and the graham crackers are already broken into squares, instead of rectangles. This was a HUGE break-through (thank you square graham cracker inventor) when it came to making these things a snap. You don't have to worry about breaking the graham crackers yourself, which will for sure end up in a mess and a bunch of broken-in-the-wrong-way graham crackers.

So, I just laid 8 crackers out on a cookie sheet. Spread marshmallow fluff on one side. Put another cracker on top and lightly pressed it together. I put those in the freezer for an hour or so. Then I came back, melted my semi-sweet chocolate chips (I did it in the microwave which works just fine, but you have to heat it carefully only a few seconds at a time and then open the door and stir the chips...then do that over and over again until the chocolate chips are fully melted and the chocolate is smooth) in a tall glass container (a pyrex measuring cup). I wanted something tall so the chocolate would be deep enough to dip the graham crackers straight down into and back out. Then I dipped them, and put them back on the cookie sheet (lined with parchment) for about an hour. After that I removed them and put them in a plastic air-tight container in the fridge. Unfortunately, I don't think the store bought graham crackers will last two weeks in the fridge like the original recipe suggests. I made them the night before and used them the next day and they were fine, but by the second day the graham crackers were starting to get soft, so I'd just suggest making them the night before or the day that you need them. They were really good!

Velvet pumpkins

2011-10-12T09:30:00.000-04:00

I thought this project would make a perfect fall-inspired Pinterest project for the Pinterest Challenge on Young House Love this week!

Check out these really cute velvet pumpkins with real pumpkin stems. Are they cute or what? I was inspired by similar pumpkins I saw at Terrain last weekend and decided that instead of blowing $40+ on one small one, I could probably make myself an entire velvet pumpkin patch for less than $20.

These are the ones that caught my eye at Terrain. They're beautiful. And expensive. They only sell the small one online. The large ones in the store were running about twice that price.

So, I did a little exploring online when I got home. Check out the gorgeous color combos I found on Pinterest!

Hot Skwash

Plush Pumpkin

I found this tutorial via a search on Pinterest. This tutorial is very close to the steps I followed (although read it AFTER I made my pumpkins). My only changes, to either tutorial (because the cutting and sewing steps are the same), is that I filled my pumpkins about half full with rice (I wanted them to be very stable) and then added polyfill, and that I glued the pumpkin stem onto the pumpkin. I didn't stick it inside the opening in the top, like the first tutorial. Instead, I glued it straight onto the fabric as described in the second tutorial. I went to Joann's Fabric & Crafts at lunch one day. They didn't have silk velvet, like used to make the ones in the photos above. They did have TONS of colors in crushed velvet (which I'm not a fan of, but since I had no other option I just went with it). I chose a black and light grey because they'd go well with my Halloween decorations and I wanted to do something other than an orange pumpkin. Also, I knew I wanted to make some in non-traditional colors to use in my dining room, but I thought I'd give a black and grey one a try to see how they look out of the crushed velvet.

I just got a half a yard of the crushed velvet in each color ($3.00 in fabric total). A bag of rice (about $1.50). I had polyfill already at home in craft supplies.

Getting the stems (if you want more than one) seems to be the most difficult part of this entire project. Look what happened to my Kate Spade purse when I went to the pumpkin patch!

I am probably the only woman in history to fill her Kate Spade bag with pumpkin stems. I just walked around the pumpkin patch and picked them up off the ground. Yay free stuff!

If you can't find ones laying around your local garden or pumpkin patch, then you're going to have to buy pumpkins and murder them for their stems. Luckily I've been able to find very inexpensive victims at the local farmers market for only $1. I bought a few and removed the stems and left the pumpkins in the backyard for the squirrels.

I bought a cheap pumpkin and hacked off the stem. Grey stems are best because they look better and they're much easier to get off the pumpkin. I just cut out a square around the stem, popped it out of the pumpkin and then trimmed away the orange. This is much easier on a grey, or dried stem, than it was with this "green" one, but I had to work with what I could acquire on my lunch break!

At home, I just cut a piece of the black fabric into a 20" x 20" square (to make about a 10" pumpkin), and then folded it into quarters to cut a rough circle.

I gathered and stitched up the circle, as described in the tutorials I mentioned above. Be sure to leave the needle and thread still attached. Then I filled the pumpkin half way with rice. Like I mentioned, I wanted it to be stable and not like a cotton filled fabric ball.

After the rice, I added polyfill and then pulled the opening closed (with the the needle and thread that were still attached from gathering the edges) and tied it off. Because of the thickness of the bunched fabric, it didn't close all the way, so I ran stitches across the opening until it was pulled close. I chose to go this route because I noticed that some of the Plush Pumpkin and Hot Skwash pumpkins seem to have a "tufted" shape about them and I wanted that same look. I also suggest using button thread to make the gathers and then to pull it closed. Using regular thin thread may not be the best idea when you have thick fabric and you're pulling against it.

Closed but a little polyfill was sticking through.

The finished product! I made one large black 10" pumpkin and two small 4" pumpkins. I just hot glued the stems onto the fabric. They seem to be holding just fine. I'm just careful not to pick them up by the stem.

The orange pumpkin is actually store bought. A friend who knew I was making these saw it at a local store and bought it for me. It's amazing how much the stem on that thing looks real (it's resin)! And it was definitely cheaper than the ones at Terrain too.

I think I'll make a bunch in various neutrals for the dining room.

I started with six. I still need a few more. I'll get to those later this week.

Philadelphia Architecture

2011-10-07T09:30:00.000-04:00

So, this is the final post about Philadelphia...I promise. I just wanted to share a few more photos I took while we were visiting. Please bear with me as I try to curtail my love of urban history by only torturing you briefly with a bunch of details. Philadelphia, as many know (or don't know), was laid out by William Penn in 1682. Penn was granted the land that is now Pennsylvania, by King Charles II of England, and he set out to create a city on the Delaware River were anyone could live, regardless of their religion.

He also planned that the city's streets would be set up in a grid, with the idea that the city would be more like the rural towns of England than its crowded cities. The homes would be spread far apart and surrounded by gardens and orchards. The city would grant the first purchasers, the landowners who first bought land in the colony, land along the river for their homes. The city, which he named Philadelphia (philos, "love" or "friendship", and adelphos, "brother"), would have a commercial center for a market, state house, and other key buildings.
--Wikipedia

William Penn's Plan for Philadelphia, 1682 (From MIT Libraries)

Penn sent three commissioners to supervise the settlement and to set aside 10,000 acres (40 km²) for the city. The commissioners bought land from Swedes at the settlement ofWicaco and from there began to lay out the city towards the north. The area went about a mile along the Delaware River between modern South and Vine Streets. Penn arrived in Philadelphia in October 1682. He felt the area was too cramped and expanded the city west to the bank of the Schuylkill River, making the city a total of 1,200 acres (4.8 km²). Streets were laid out in a gridiron system. Except for the two widest streets, High (now Market) and Broad, the streets were named after prominent landowners who owned adjacent lots. The streets were later renamed in 1684; the ones running east-west were renamed after local trees and the north-south streets were numbered. Within the area, four squares (now named Rittenhouse, Logan, Washington and Franklin) were set up as parks open for everyone. Penn designed a central square at the intersection of Broad and what is now Market Street that would be surrounded by public buildings.
--Wikipedia

I will stop with that because I could go on and on and on pointing out all kinds of interesting points in the history of Philadelphia that led it to where it is today....you've got the whole 18th century and Revolutionary War, our little friend Benjamin Franklin, etc. I'll leave you to your own devices with all of that. I trust you'll leave this post to immediately throw yourself into the depths of history. So from this point on, I'll just point out a few highlights of the cityscape I captured last week.

Philadelphia City Hall (statue of William Penn atop the tower), was completed in 1901 and remains the second tallest masonry structure in the world, as well as the largest municipal structure in the US.

City Hall is built on Centre Square, one of the original 5 squares in Penn's city plan,and the building design allows for pedestrians to pass through the building from one side of the square to the other.

Subway station at City Hall.

Art Deco Building on the east side of City Hall.

The area around Rittenhouse Square has tons of great restaurants and shops.

I like the European-style sidewalk cafe seating (with chairs facing out) I kept coming across in the city.

You could find these signs for pedestrians on every block. They show your current location in the city.

Anthropologie's autumn decor.

Anthropologie's flagship store at Rittenhouse Square.

Pre-War Rittenhouse Plaza houses condos running from $500,000 to $3 million.

Rittenhouse Square.

And a few more photos a little further downtown, mostly along Walnut Street.

I really wanted to eat here!

Check out those booths on the sidewalk!!!!

Philadelphia :: Highlights

2011-10-05T09:30:00.000-04:00

I thought I'd share a few highlights from our brief, but fun, trip to Philadelphia last week. Since I knew I was going to have a toddler in tow, I wasn't sure what to expect or plan for, when it came to exploring the city. Luckily, Henry was very excited about all of the trucks, cars, buses, and people so he was happy to be out and about in the stroller.

Our hotel, the Crowne Plaza (Center City), was in a great location (Market Street and 18th Street), only a few blocks from Rittenhouse Square.

I highlighted in orange the area of the city was able to cover, on foot (with a toddler) in two days...not too shabby!). You can find an original copy of this map here.

I highlighted in black, most of the streets we hit (many more than once) and put a star to note some of the places of interest. I stayed in the main corridor between Market Street and Walnut Street. Walnut, Chestnut, and Sansom Streets have tons of restaurants to choose from (national and local), as well as plenty of places for shopping (ranging from luxury chains to really cute boutiques). A great place to stop for snacks, or maybe something from the bakery (or to take back home) is Di Bruno Brothers. It's a very Dean and Deluca sort of gourmet food market that also carried lots of regional items.

I believe, from my crude calculations, we walked about 10 miles over two days.

A really fun place for lunch is the Reading Terminal Market. Lots of really neat local and regional food. Very easy with a stroller, especially before the lunchtime rush (and even then it wasn't horrible). I was there about 11am and then later at Noon. It gets really crowded, really fast, for lunch.

Henry enjoying a pretzel.

Having a cheese steak and fries.

We shared a red velvet cupcakes from the Flying Monkey Bakery in the Market.

I'm not quite ready for the Pumpple Cake (at Flying Monkey Bakery).

Thursday night we went to dinner at Monk's Cafe (on the recommendation of two friends). It wasn't exactly kid-friendly--it is a bar after all. We were on the early side (about 5pm) so it wasn't really crowded and Henry behaved. We didn't have the luxury of getting to enjoy some of their more popular dishes (would take too long to eat) or to drink any of the amazing beers on their menu, but we did have a nice short meal and a beer or two. And we had a nice little walk to the restaurant, which is located just off Walnut Street in a pretty residential area.

You wear your sunglasses at the bar if you're cool.

It was such a lovely day on Friday that eating lunch outside at Parc Brasserie at Rittenhouse Square was too good to pass up. Plus, you know how I love all things frenchie!!

I love how they have the chairs facing out toward the street.

For the second meal in a row, Henry ate french fries. He has had no interest in fries until this trip. Oh yeah, and my tomato tart was FANTASTIC.

Rittenhouse Square, one of the original open space parks laid out by William Penn, was a great place to let Henry run and play. He even made a few new friends.

Blond and blonder.

We did stroll all the way down to the oldest part of the city where the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall are located--Independence National Historic Park. I knew some of the buildings were undergoing renovations, so I wasn't too heart-broken when we got down there and many were closed. Henry is too young to be interested in the buildings and monuments anyway.

That's the Liberty Bell at the bottom.

Independence Hall.

It was about dinner time after we checked out Independence National Historic Park, so we hopped across the street to Jones. The atmosphere was cool and retro, just slightly upscale. It sort of has an upscale diner feel and fairly kid-friendly (we were there early and the crowd was mellow, but I'm sure that changes a bit after 7pm). There isn't a kids menu, but plenty of items on the menu that most kids will eat (not mine, he just ate bread that came with the meal).

It's hard to tell because my flash didn't fire, but Henry is double fisting the "purple people eater" drink his daddy ordered for him (grape juice, lemonade, and Sprite).

On the way back to the hotel, walking up Walnut Street (my main route north to south, even though I did venture off here and there), I spotted Max Brenner so we stopped in with our already sugared up toddler for dessert.

I had the hot chocolate (which is my favorite there), but Kirk ordered this disaster for himself and Henry to share. It was some sort of peanut butter and chocolate ice cream sundae that also had hazelnuts and carmelized bananas. Henry just ate that bowl of chocolate sauce (on the left) with a spoon.

Sugar coma.

So after Henry was fully recharged, we headed back to the hotel with a toddler on the loose. He did enjoy a little after dinner jogging and dancing.

We had a great trip to Philadelphia and I really can't wait to go back with Henry again. Other than some of the stores and restaurants being a little difficult to access with a stroller (and some being impossible), everything was easy and Henry had a great time!

A whole lot like autumn

2011-10-03T09:30:00.000-04:00

I stopped by Terrain on Saturday. Terrain! Terrain! Terrain! Oh yes, Terrain! I'll spare you any additional drivel on my end, and let you just enjoy the photos and all the inspiration. I seriously need to kick things up around here. I mean, did you see my last post? I've got to do better than that.

I need some black lilirope to replace my lame green variety out front.

"Garden to go". That's cute. What are you going to pull it around behind you all day? Hmmm. What's wrong with that? Good exercise I suppose.

Cute corn husk bunting/garland!

I love how they had this totally unsupervised fire pit going and ALL the children were gathered around it.

Just don't get too close to the fire with one of those spiffy $100 blankets.

The ladies from Brown Betty in Philadelphia had set up a pop up shop in the garden with some of their fantastic cupcakes.

See those pumpkins? They sell them for about $1 million at Terrain. Well, not really that much, but close. I wonder if I could make them myself?

Henry enjoying a pumpkin cupcake with spiced cream cheese frosting.

Kind of like Autumn

2011-09-30T09:30:00.000-04:00

What with the warm temperatures and humidity, it's really not feeling like autumn here. Sort of like autumn in Charleston perhaps, but without the general awesomeness that is the Low Country. So I'm trying to get in the mood a little, so I dragged out my Fall and Halloween decorations. I even pinned a bunch of cute ideas on Pinterest, but it's hard to get all worked up about hot cider and sweaters when you get all sweaty walking out to your car. Also, I would like to note that getting photos of the outside of my house has been almost impossible what with the constant rain....SINCE AUGUST. Oh well, maybe conditions will improve soon.

For now, I'm keeping it low key on the front porch. I plan to add a few more pumpkins when it gets a little cooler. I was afraid they'd rot away to nothing in two weeks if I bought them now. The moisture and the heat would for sure reduce them to a shriveled mess.

Looks kind of dreary. Oh and apparently we need to cut the grass....AGAIN.

I love my vintage flower stand. I've painted it a million different colors and I love to use it to hold those tiny pumpkins in the Fall.

I like to throw some Spanish moss into the mix in the Fall. My spanish moss is looking a little wet and wilted from the rain, but that's an easily remedied situation (hello Spanish moss in bags at the Dollar Tree!). I usually add it to all my pots on the front porch.

I've had this wreath for a few years. I think it's from Michael's or Target. It's kind of like having a turkey or maybe a rooster on your door....deconstructed and what-not. I'm glad you have that visual now. You can thank me later.

Inside, I just tossed out a few things here and there into my existing decor.

This year I put my Halloween chick in the kitchen with a few blinged out pumpkins, because he's hip like that. I found Sir Hot Mess at Tinsel Trading Company in NYC a few years ago (the pumpkins are from Michaels).

This is the feather wreath I used to put on my front door before I painted it a charcoal grey. I still love this wreath, so now I just hang it on the inside of the kitchen door.

In the living room, I just added a few pumpkins to the bookcase and a really cool retro letterpress card I found at Tinsel Trading, and then framed.

Maybe I should have named this post, Things I Bought at Tinsel Trading Company. Yep, that little glittered leaf is from there too.

In my apothecary jars, I switched out the sand and shells for some bleached moss (Pottery Barn) and a few little glittery spiders from Michael's.

Nothing is scarier than a glittery spider.

Since I don't have a fireplace, and thus no mantle to decorate, the top of my entertainment cabinet serves that purpose. It looks all mantle-y, yes? That's a technical decorating term, I'm sure. I found that really cool honeycomb-looking mercury glass vase at HomeGoods and filled it with tiny red leafed branches I found at.....not Tinsel Trading...but Michael's.

So there you go. I hope you feel all inspired to run out and buy some glittery spiders, maybe some moss, and if you're lucky perhaps you'll find a Halloween chick with a top hat.

Anthropologie-inspired Art

2011-09-28T09:30:00.000-04:00

I'm starting to think about redecorating the master bedroom. It needs a fresh coat of paint on the walls, and also on the ceiling (thanks to some leaks a few years ago). I have an idea of the direction I'm going to head in...maybe a nice warm grey with a pop of color. I've pinned some inspiration over at Pinterest:

The room is small, faces East, and has lots of really dark furniture. Furniture that I'm also not willing to paint. So I think lighter walls and lighter bedding will be a fun change. Also, thanks to the Eastern exposure and the fact that our neighbors hacked down a lovely old oak tree out front last year, this room now gets BLASTED with sun from about noon until sunset. That's not a bad thing in the winter, but in the summer it's brutal. Since the master bedroom is also on the 2nd floor, it makes it really hot in the summer too. So, while I love my Pottery Barn bedding, which I've had for about 7 years, it's really faded. The curtains are a total loss. And I could stand a little update in there anyway.

So back to the subject of this post...a little art project. I found a set of these Martha Stewart paper flowers in the clearance bin at Joann's a few weeks ago when we were in Roanoke, VA. I bought them with no plan at the time, but at some point during our 4 hour drive back to Baltimore it occurred to me that I could use them on a wall or maybe a canvas for a very Anthropologie-style piece of art. I have always admired how they use color (or lack of color) and paper in the store displays.

So, for my project, the materials are simple:
an artist canvas (I bought a rectangular one)
your medium...which could be something like these pre-made flowers, or if you have time, just about anything else you imagine!
hot glue gun

After buying one set in Roanoke, I ran out to the local Joann's here in Baltimore and bought two more.

I went with a rectangular canvas because there are two possible places I'll hang this in the master bedroom,
and that's the shape I'll need.

For a little filler, I also bought these paper flowers in the wedding supply section at Michaels. Before unwrapping the canvas, took all of the flowers out of the packaging and started playing around with layouts.

And here is my final product!

After I felt like I had the layout I wanted, I just picked up each flower and glued it to the canvas. And it was done. Very simple. There are a million ways you could enhance the project. You could cover the canvas in fabric or paint first, then add the flowers or whatever medium you choose to work with. I've seen some really cute and mod patterns made out of cardboard tubes on Pinterest.

That's right....toliet paper tubes!

But I wanted to go with white, or shades of white and ivory, so I didn't feel the need to paint or use fabric.

I threw it up over my bed, where another picture was hanging so you could get an idea of size and scale. It's probably not going to end up staying there, but I may leave it for now. OR I could make three more and hang them next to each other (since just one is too small for this space). I can't wait to start painting in there this Fall!

Woodland Friends Birthday Party

2011-09-26T09:30:00.000-04:00

We had a very busy, but fun time this past weekend. It was Henry's 2nd Birthday!!! The grandparents all came into town, along with Aunt Kristi and Uncle Austin. And, of course, lots of local friends (of the big and small variety). The party this year was at Irvine Nature Center in Reisterstown. The facility is new and the building, and site, were designed to be very environmentally friendly. The room where the party was held is one of their preschool rooms, which is the perfect location for a party for a bunch of little kids. The Woodland Friends theme I chose coordinated both with the activities that were planned during the party (by the nature center staff), and then I tried to go with colors that didn't compete with the pretty busy preschool room. I think it turned out pretty well, given that I'd only seen the room once before. Maybe I have one of those color reading chips in one of my eyeballs. That would be AWESOME! And I wouldn't need the app for my phone.

I blogged about the centerpieces last week. I used a variety of animals such as birds, bunnies, hedgehogs, and owls.

I also blogged last week about my technique for making this garland. I really love this garland. Probably more than a normal person should love a bunch of crepe paper knotted up on twine. I should string it from the ceilings in my house.

I tried to keep the food fairly simple, since the children never really eat anything but the cake or cupcakes anyway. The food really served as snacks for the adults who were ~~trapped~~ enjoying the party. My friend Julie made Buffalo Chicken Dip. Perhaps she should post the recipe on her blog so I can post the link to it? Yes? I made a BLT pasta salad, which was really delicious. I had to have bacon somewhere on the menu and I couldn't really find a way to fit bacon jam into the mix so this was the next best thing. I used this recipe (originally found on Pinterest) and my only alteration was that instead of fresh thyme I just used some italian seasoning I had in my spice collection and I didn't serve it over bib lettuce (would have done that if the party had been at my house but I figured the lettuce would be very wilted if I included it as suggested in the recipe. I had my mom make sausage balls, which are the standard old-school southern party staple. I also had my mom make her cream cheese brownies were are too ridiculous for words. I know I'll have requests for that recipe so once I get it I'll post it. I made the sweet potato brownies from Bake It Pretty. They are the perfect fall dessert! And of course, really cute cupcakes from a local supermarket, Graul's.

I made really quick and simple favors for the children at Henry's party. I bought little sticker books from the Irvine Nature Center gift shop, found small magnifying glasses at Michael's Crafts, and then threw in a few packs of gummy bears (I found these small packs in a HUGE bag at World Market). I wrapped it all up in a bandana (you can find at most craft stores and even the $1 store).

We had a fantastic member of the Irvine Nature Center staff lead the kids through story time. Each of the children also had the opportunity to pet a turtle, a hedgehog, and an owl.

The birthday boy!!! He was very excited about his raccoon shirt (mostly because he liked to say "raccoon")

Henry running around in circles, apparently for the entertainment of the other kids.

Me and my birthday boy.

Sometimes he's a little goofball.

After reading a story and ~~torturing~~ petting the animals, all the kids went outside for a bug hunt. I do not believe any insects or worms were injured. Henry's pants did sustain some serious mud injuries from him running around like a wild man.

Back to the party for cake and gifts. Henry LOVES him some "cakey" (as he calls it). I wasn't thinking and didn't attempt to hide the cupcakes (all 35 of them) when I brought them home on Friday night. So he had one for dinner that night and he spotted them the minute he arrived at the party.

Henry and other children pretending to eat food that isn't cake.

He finally got to eat his cupcake!

Henry got lots of really fun toys and he has been in toy heaven all weekend!

Irvine Nature Center has a really nice natural playground on-site. After the party the kids had a great time climbing around on the logs and hollowed out trees.

Henry had a great time and managed to survive the day with his sanity intact despite only having a 30 minute nap in lieu of his usual 3 hour nap. I guess it's time to start planning his 3rd birthday party!!!!

Whoooooo?

2011-09-23T09:30:00.000-04:00

So, I'm starting to get a little crafty in preparation for my little boy's upcoming birthday party. The party is at a nature center with a "forest friends" theme. I pulled together projects from a baby shower I put together at work and another baby shower a few years go to come up with this cute centerpiece.

Whooo's the cutest centerpiece in all the land????

So here is how I made the centerpieces. First you make the tree cake stands. Like I mentioned, I had them from a previous shower and a friend's husband put them together for us. Here is the original tutorial. You can buy the tops at Michael's in two different sizes (we used the smaller size) and then just cut the bases out of a fallen tree trunk.

For the animals, I purchased this set of graphics from MyGrafico two years ago. I don't think they have this exact set any longer but there are other similar ones on the site. I just create a Photoshop document and place the images of the animals on the page. I like to have the animal visible on both sides so I print out two of each, one being a mirror image, on white cardstock.

The other materials I used are floral stem wire, faux moss rocks (which I found at the Dollar Tree!!), and cake circles (which are in the cake decorating section of the craft store). I originally bought the 6 inch cake circles, as shown in the photo below, but I exchanged them for the 12 inch circles after I decided I needed a larger platform for my centerpiece.

Along with the cake circles, you will need decorative paper. I used scrapbook paper (because that's what I always use and it's 12 inches square!). I knew I needed to make six centerpieces, so I pulled out six of the cake circles, traced them onto the green paper, cut the circles out, and then hot glued the paper circles to cover the cake circles.

So back to the animals...what you're trying to accomplish is just the printed animal standing up on its own with wire "legs". I am sure there are many ways to achieve this, but this is how I do it.

I take one of the wire stems and cut it in half with my wire cutters. Then I bend the stem piece in half again so that when laid on one half of the animal it lines up with its feet (see below on the hedgehog).

Once I get it aligned, I just put a dab of hot glue on the back side of the hedgehog and set the wire in place. After a few seconds, I put some glue all over the backside of the hedgehog and then place the second cut-out of the animal on top. Gluing the two together and sandwiching the wire "legs" in the middle.

Sexy wire hedgehog legs!

And then you're done. I have six of these tree stands and used six different animals from the MyGrafico set: an owl, hedgehog, birds, bunny. I bend the legs out from the bottom of the animal and then bend those pieces at a right angle, like this:

Then using a little piece of masking tape (since it happens to be the same color as the wood on the stands, I just tape down each of the wire "legs" and I'm done! I added a few pine cones and some of the moss covered rocks (you can just glue or tape them down) and it's done!

Loopy Lou Lou

2011-09-21T09:30:00.002-04:00

Just the other day I saw this really cute party garland/bunting (whatever you want to call it) on Pinterest. For a REALLY cute tea party post on The Sweetest Occasion website.

So, I saw this and thought...hmmmm...how can I make this with something besides fabric? Something less expensive? Then I thought of crepe paper streamer. So I went to Party City and got a few rolls in the colors that coordinate with Henry's upcoming birthday party (so yes, this is a post about his birthday party decorations). There were two rolls in a pack, for only a few dollars each. I had a $5 roll of twine from Michaels (I purchased because I was planning to make some sort of garland decoration for the party).

So here is the quick tutorial:
Cut a few strips of the streamer about 14 inches long or so. I did two strips of the same color at a time (you'll see in the finished product photos). Then you make a loop on one side of the twine with your streamer folded in half.

Next you pull the tails of the crepe paper back through your loop to form a little knot. I tried to find a better illustration online but all I found was how to tie this same sort of knot in a scarf. I think it still applies.

Then you gently (just be a little careful until you get the feel of it because the streamer will tear if you pull too hard) pull it through and push it along the twine to the next piece.

Then a mere three days later (I kid! I kid!...only took me an hour to make this one and it's about 8 feet long and I watched a movie while I was doing it), you have this:

I wish the birthday party could be held outside. The garland looks so cute in the trees!

Ooo! It would be the cutest scarf. Now I just need to make two more.

Sweet Potatoes

2011-09-19T09:30:00.001-04:00

I love sweet potatoes, especially in the fall. I thought I'd just share a few of my favorite dishes.

Sweet Potato Casserole
Of course, being southern and all, there is the standard sweet potato casserole. My version is a hybrid of many different recipes, many of which I have lost somewhere along the line. I just make it from memory but it goes a little something like this one from Paula Deen. Some people have issues with the marshmallow topping. Sometimes I add it, sometimes I don't. If you want to include it, just wait until after the casserole is finished baking, cover the top in mini marshmallows and broil them until they start to brown. This is tricky and you don't want to turn the dish into a black, burnt marshmallow mess, so just keep a close eye on it in the oven.

Paula Deen's Sweet Potato Bake

Sweet Potato Pancakes
Sweet potato pancakes are also fantastic in the Fall. I get Bruce's Sweet Potato Pancake Mix at The Fresh Market (although you're certainly welcome to make them from scratch....there are tons of recipes out there). The only adjustment I make, is that I usually add about twice the liquid than is listed in the recipe on the box. The mix is way too thick for me if you follow the directions. It's almost too thick to even pour.

Grilled Sweet Potato Slices
Before it gets too cold to use your grill, another good idea for sweet potatoes is to grill slices. This post provides a good idea for how to cook them in the microwave to prepare for grilling (and you could also do this using the cubes on skewers technique instead of slices), but this is what I do:

First, peel them, then boil them for about 15 minutes or so..until they're starting to cook, but not mushy. Drain, let them cool, peel them, and then slice them. I brush them with a little oil and then throw them on the grill. Once they're done, use a pineapple or mango coconut pepper sauce (The Fresh Market also carries a very good store brand of this) to dip them in. They're also a good side for a little jerk chicken and maybe some black beans and rice!

Sweet Potato Brownies
I made these FANTASTIC Sweet Potato Brownies back in June. I found the recipe on Bake It Pretty. My only alteration to the recipe was that I used mashed sweet potatoes that I found in the refrigerated section at Wegmans, instead of shredding sweet potatos. I had a hard time finding good sweet potatoes at the grocery store in June, so I had to improvise. If you look at the photo on Bake It Pretty, hers are a little lighter than mine. I'm not sure if that's because of the type of molasses I used or if that's a result of using the mashed sweet potatoes in lieu of shredded. They tasted fantastic and I'm making them again for a birthday party in a few days.

Excuse the poor quality photo...I didn't plan to post them on the blog when I made them Bastille Day!

Sweet Potato Biscuits or Rolls
Once again, we're back to the Fresh Market. Maybe this should be a post about The Fresh Market. In the Fall they sell sweet potato biscuits in the bakery...just FYI. I love them with country ham. Maybe I should try them this year with a little bacon jam! Recently, I noticed in the frozen foods section that they carry these sweet potato & molasses rolls from Anna Mae Southern Bread Co. in Greensboro, NC. They're really good with rosemary ham (Trader Joe's), smoked Gouda (also Trader Joe's) and a little dijon mustard.

I haven't tried the others yet, but the sweet potato rolls are delish!!!

Jersey-licious

2011-09-16T09:30:00.000-04:00

For the past two years, stretch jersey fabric has been the bane of my crafting existence. Thanks to stretch jersey, I swore off using my sewing machine for the past two years. Then I saw these scarves on Pinterest. Pinterest is going to be the end of me. I know this now. However, for once, I do believe my obsession with Pinterest has paid off. Not only did I buy two new yards of jersey fabric this week, I hauled out my sewing machine again. To sew jersey fabric no less!!!

If you've never worked with stretch jersey (or probably any stretchy knit), you have no idea how insane it can make a person. I have no idea how those participants on Project Runway can deal with jersey over and over (by choice) under that sort of pressure. I would never last a second. It can get caught in the sewing machine teeth (the things that pull your fabric along as you sew), it can pull or snag while you're stitching it. Don't even get me started on the pain it is to cut the stuff (unless you have one of those sweet rotary cutting tools...which I may need to get soon). So I decided to give it another chance, and it was worth it. I was patient and in the end no one was hurt and I didn't threaten to burn all the jersey fabric in the world in a large molten pit along with my sewing machine.

So here are the two items of inspiration, which also came with tutorials.

I read through this tutorial.

And I read through this tutorial.

And then, as usual, I just made something up as I went along.

Stuff you'll need:
a sewing machine (although you could do it by hand)
scissors (or if you're awesome, you can use your rotary cutter)
jersey fabric (it's expensive...just FYI...about $14 a yard or so)

So here is my tutorial (be sure to read through carefully, and then later ignore...as I would):

STEP 1

My fabric (two yards) was 60 inches wide (standard bolt width) by 72 inches long (two yards). I wanted to get three scarves out of that cut of fabric so I CAREFULLY cut it into three sections of 20 inches wide.

STEP 2

For each of those 20 inch sections, I cut another three strips. I needed one for the bulk of the scarf and two for the braids. I just went with 10 inches, 6 inches, and 4 inches. You can mix it up however you want but I would suggest sticking between 8-10 inches on the widest piece.

STEP 3

So, you leave your 10 inch piece alone, but you need to cut the two smaller strips so that you can braid them. If you notice in the image above, I didn't cut all the way to the end on these strips. It's easier to braid if one end hasn't been cut. This way you can stick that end under something heavy like a book or pin it to something so it stays put while you braid the rest of it.

STEP 4
So braid your two narrow strips and you end up with something like this (I rolled it up for the purpose of this photo but you can see the two ends at the bottom of the photo...the ends that I didn't cut all the way through. It's sort of Rapunzel-esque.

STEP 5
So after the braiding is done, you need to lay things out to sew. Here are the ends of the scarf. You have a braid (1), a solid piece (2), and a braid (3) and that same thing on the other end (4, 5, 6). With all the braiding, the solid piece ends up being longer than the braided pieces. That's okay. You can snip that off because you'll need it later.

STEP 6
So now you need to sew (by hand or with the machine). Just lay out a braid, then on top of it the solid piece, then a braid. I started with the braids that had the un-cut ends (numbers 4 and 6 above) since I figured they'd be easier to sew and I was trying to manage my jersey-rage. Just lay the three pieces stacked together on the sewing machine and stitch away! It doesn't have to be pretty because you won't see it in the finished product.

It's not your monitor. Yes, this scarf is brown. I made a brown one first out of a scrap of jersey
I had from the jersey-rage project of 2009.

STEP 7
Then do that same thing for the other end, so you have both ends of the scarf sewn closed. Next you need to sew them together to make the scarf into a loop.

Both ends of the scarf have been sewn closed.

Lay one of the ends on top of the other so they overlap a little, and then sew the whole thing to form a loop scarf.

STEP 8
Finally, take that little piece you cut from the solid piece of fabric earlier (the tutorial image with the numbers on it), and use it to cover the sewn ends. I rolled my ends a little as I was pulling this piece of fabric around them because I felt it would have a better fit around your neck that way and keep the whole thing from being too bulky when you wear it looped around your neck twice.

Just pin it and stitch it closed by hand.

And then you're done!

And thanks to the Princess of Pumpkin Spice for help with the photos!

Woodland Friends Party Invitations

2011-09-14T09:30:00.000-04:00

Just a little preview of the invitations for Henry's upcoming birthday party. Interwebs, I tried SOOO hard to get a good shot of these invitations. The weather wouldn't cooperate for shooting outdoors. The lighting wouldn't cooperate indoors. I was obsessed AND possessed (as I tend to get), so here they are anyway. I created the three sheet invitations (there was a fourth sheet but due to budget constraints I had to reign this project in a bit) in Photoshop using backgrounds and elements I purchased at MyGrafico.

I think it's going to turn out to be a really cute party at Irvine Nature Center. I'm using a bold, modern take on your usual primary colors and incorporating cute woodland friends like owls, hedgehogs, deer, and birds. Maybe a fox and squirrel too! I would like to give a shout out to Alpha Graphics, Inc. in Hampden for doing a great job on printing! They were very responsive and helpful over email (since I work too far away to be able to run over to check the test prints). I'll definitely be using them in the future.

Here is the mood board I created to get a few ideas going for decorations and favors. Unfortunately, the room itself isn't very lovely. It's in the basement and looks very middle school-science classroom, so decorating is going to be challenging to say the least. How to decorate a classroom without showing up the day before to repaint, clean, and install new lighting? I'm going to have to control myself.

Little Things

2011-09-12T09:30:00.000-04:00

This post is about two very small and simple projects I did last week, with a little inspiration from Pinterest (of course). These are two projects that I am a total idiot for not thinking of myself and for not doing them sooner.

Thanks to Pinterest I came across this really awesome blog: I Heart Organizing. Thanks to the husband subjecting me to too many episodes of Hoarders, and our house being a bit disheveled after the power outage from Tropical Storm Irene, I went a little bonkers. So with a little inspiration here and here, I got to work. So this is our fridge and freezer right after the power came back on. It's more than a wreck. It's a disaster. It's probably the worst it has ever been. It looks like my mother's fridge!!!!!!!! Nooooo!!!!!

I ran to Target at lunch and found these bins, which are similar to the ones on the I Heart Organizing blog (she got hers at The Container Store...and I don't have time to wait for shipping...did you see that mess in those two previous photos???????)

I made some little labels to tape on the front of the bins. Nothing fancy.

And then I made it happen. All that stuff in the earlier photo is still in the freezer. I didn't throw out anything. And those little bins just slide right out, like a drawer. I LOOOOVE them.

GORGEOUS!

I grabbed two more of the large bins and two smaller ones for the fridge. Since we have a recurring ant problem, I've resigned myself to keeping all of the sugar in the fridge. I can't fight it any longer. So I used one of the bins for sugar (all varieties....cane, dark brown, light brown, agave, powdered, etc.), and the other for the random collection I have going of pasta sauce and other simmering sauces.

I used the two smaller trays up top for small jars. One for jelly and peanut butter, one for things like salsa. And I must say, this whole system is awesome! You pull those bins or trays out just like you would a drawer, which means you can see what is behind something with minimal effort. This is a HUGE development. It could be an end to MALE REFRIGERATOR BLINDNESS!!!!!

Now, on to the other small project...

I have been wanting to paint this bookcase in my living room forever. And then, thanks to Pinterest, I keep seeing cute projects where you paint the bookcase one color and inside another color. Or you add fabric or wallpaper to the inside. My only hold up on this project has been the fact that I think I may end up using this bookcase in Henry's room in the near future and I'm thinking that I need it to retain the wood stain. So just to play around, I thought I'd just play around with the inside of the bookcase and not mess with painting until I know for sure what the future of Henry's room may hold.

It's that bookcase in the corner on the left. Nothing exciting really.

I was at Joann's recently and saw this decorative paper (it's the same as contact paper but a better print).

And I'm loving the chevron-esque/herringbone pattern.

So I measured the back of the bookcase, for each shelf, and cut the paper with scissors. Then you just peel off the backing and stick it right on. Pretty simple. Way less complicated than the fabric idea I tossed around for the back of the shelves.

Can you see it? It's nearly impossible to get a good indoor photo when it's dark outside and raining.

It would look so cute painted a fun color!

So, once I decide whether it's staying this way, or getting painted, I'll rearrange all the stuff on the shelves. Maybe ditch all that clunky stuff on top too.

It's Fall Y'all!

2011-09-09T09:30:00.001-04:00

It's officially autumn. I was hoping for a little more transition between 110 degree summer days and cool, rainy Fall days, but that isn't happening. Instead we've had a week of rain. Down-pouring rain. A remnant of Hurricane Lee that has apparently stalled over the mid-Atlantic. So, in lieu of rushing straight for the pumpkin and sweet potato recipes, I thought I'd venture into some new territory with apples. Everyone seems to be forgetting apples this year. Bring me an apple pie, someone! Cider donuts from Weber Farm! Hello? Anyone out there?

Enter: Caramel Apple Cream Cheese Dip

Kind of looks like a really cute baked brie!

So I found this recipe on Pinterest earlier this week and thought I'd give it a whirl. As usual, I made some adjustments to the recipe. Here are my changes:

In lieu of 12 oz of cream cheese in the recipe, I used two 8 oz packages of cream cheese. Since I don't like things overly sweet, I kept the same amount of vanilla, heavy cream, and powdered sugar. Instead of making caramel sauce, I bought the Fleur de Sel Caramel Sauce at Trader Joe's. And instead of Heath bar chips (I'm not big on chocolate with my caramel apple), I used the Pecan Pralines from Trader Joe's.

I followed the same steps that were outlined in the original recipe...lining a 6 inch bowl with plastic wrap.

Mixing the cream cheese, sugar, vanilla, and cream together with a mixer.

Whip it. Whip it good!

Chopped up the pecans.

I probably chopped up about a cup of pecans
(I never measure anything either...I would not be a very good cookbook writer).

Starting first with a layer of the cream cheese mixture (use half), next layer about half of the caramel sauce.

Then sprinkle the pecans on top of the caramel.

Add the rest of the cream cheese mixture, fold the ends of the plastic wrap over the dish (I have a lid for this dish that I used after folding the wrap over the dip) and refrigerate overnight.

Then you invert the bowl onto a plate, drizzle with a little more caramel sauce on top, and sprinkle with pecans. Enjoy!

Fans of Our Lives

2011-09-09T09:30:00.000-04:00

Do you like how I'm keeping with the soap opera themed post titles for the kitchen spruce-up?
I recently repainted the kitchen and changed things up a bit, so it is time to do something with the ceiling fan.I wanted to buy a new one, but all the ones I found that I really liked that were modern and small were in the $300+ range. If I had the option to not have a ceiling fan in the kitchen I would go that route, but it's not an option. Between the tiny size, the ceramic tile floor, and the stove that can heat up the room to about 500 degrees in ten minutes, I have no choice in the matter. This room turns into a sweat lodge anytime I cook.

Not the worst thing, but not really pretty either.

Inspired by Young House Love's obsession with Rustoleum Universal Metallic Spray Paint in Oil Rubbed Bronze, I picked up a can of Rustoleum Universal Metallic Spray Paint in Satin Nickel to transform the ceiling fan. The hardware on the kitchen cabinets is a satin nickel color and I used faux pressed silver tin tiles on the backsplash, so nickel it is!

Awesome paint. Goes on evenly. Dries quickly. LOVE IT.

After I pulled off the ceiling fan blades, and removed the wooden blade from the metal piece that connects it to the fan, I covered the parts of the ceiling fan that I didn't want painted with aluminum foil. That's a hand little painting trick I saw on the Real Simple magazine website.

Now, only because it was raining and only because I could open the door to the outside and angle a fan out the door, did I spray paint this thing inside. And only this part of the fan. I took the metal pieces that attach the blades to the fan outside and painted them and had to let them dry in the basement (due to yet another rainy weekend). I wouldn't do it that way for any other reason. But it was a quick job and I covered all the other surfaces before I sprayed (floor, countertops,etc.). There were a places where I found some of the paint residue right after I finished spraying and those wiped up with a wet paper towel.

After everything was dry (I waited 24 hours), I screwed the metal pieces back onto the blades. I helped my husband get those blades re-attached to the fan. That was probably the trickiest part of this entire project. The part of the fan that the blades attach to moves around inside of the metal body that attaches to the ceiling. So it's a two man operation to get the fan blades re-attached.

But we got them up. I also switched out the original frosted shades for these clear glass shades so it would look a little cleaner and lighter. Also, I removed those old pulls and replaced them with new silver pulls (after I took this photo, of course). So there it is! It was a really quick project and cost under $25.