Gifting...

I LOVE to bake. I dont do it very often because neither I nor my husband usually eat what I make more out of strict nutrition than anything. We are, to put it mildly, very careful about making sure we eat healthy. I always give myself one portion of whatever I make and give the rest away.

I have been a fan of Alexis Stewart, Martha's daughter ever since I began listening to her talk show on Martha's radio station, Sirius 112. Alexis really is the one who inspired my blog since hers is absoultely amazing. Her blog (you can find Alexis's Blog here) is jam packed with great info about baking and cooking and little tidbits about her life. Alexis has inspired me to begin putting more thought into my baking gifts, as she claims that the goodies inside only taste as good as they look on the outside. So...I went and grabbed some of her mom's line to package my recent baking gifts. Martha has a great line of stuff at Michaels and there are also a lot of really great packaging materials at Nashville Wraps, a company my sister in law turned me onto a couple of years ago.

Adding the pumpkin to make my mom's famous Pumpkin Cake. I made sure to make it in my fall Nordicware pan, complete with pumpkins!

Packaged for the girls! My "good luck on your residency interviews" gift.

See the pumpkins!

From the Kitchen of Shawna...someday I will have my own personalized tags.

Amazing Pecan Coffee Cake

I made this for brunch with the girls this weekend and it was a hit! I made a couple alterations to the recipe so check the note at the bottom.

Amazing Pecan Coffee Cake

Allrecipes.com, Rated: 5 out of 5 by 153 members
Prep Time: 20 Minutes (took me 40)

Cook Time: 30 Minutes
Ready In: 50 Minutes

Yields: 12 servings

INGREDIENTS:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup sour cream
1 1/2 cups white sugar
2 eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup brown sugar
1 cup chopped pecans
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons butter, melted
DIRECTIONS:

1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line a 9x13 inch pan with aluminum foil, and lightly grease with vegetable oil or cooking spray. Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside.

2.In a large bowl, cream the butter until light and fluffy. Gradually beat in sour cream, then beat in sugar. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the vanilla. By hand, fold in the flour mixture, mixing just until incorporated. Spread batter into prepared pan.

3.To make the Pecan Topping: In a medium bowl, mix together brown sugar, pecans and cinnamon. Stir in melted butter until crumbly. Sprinkle over cake batter in pan.

4.Bake in the preheated oven for 30 to 35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack, and remove foil.

*I used a bundt pan and added half of the batter, then the topping, then the rest of the batter. I baked for a total of 1 hr. Dusted with powdered sugar.

So out of control...

At this point in my life, things are seemingly so out of my control. Due to my husband's upcoming match to a residency in general surgery, my time in this city will shortly come to an end and I have no say in where we are going next. I am not much of a control freak, well, I guess that is not entirely true. I am a perfectionist by nature, so I like to have a firm grasp on my life, but I am not a control freak beyond myself and how I operate. I am trying to take this whole adventure in stride, I really am. But with our financial future so up in the air, and having to leave a job I am very good at and a home that I love, I am feeling unsettled. I am trying to channel these feelings into constructive behaviors like making sure my home is freakishly clean and even more freakishly organized. If I can create order here, maybe that will translate through more of my life. :)

I have taken on the task of "undecorating" my home into my bedroom, which was just completely made over a few months ago. It is now undergoing a soft makeover. I now realize that when you commit to a print in a room, you better like it or it will get real old, real fast. Case in point: my duvet. Granted it was another bargain find, I am SO over it and am going solid now. For now it is a work in progress... I am calling this process a "preparation to sell this place" just to shut my other half up about my issues with constantly changing interior surroundings. It's more of a hobby than anything else. That...and a bit too much HGTV.


Here's what I have so far: Walls are "Master Room" by Ralph Lauren, furniture is a warm walnut, the duvet is Nutmeg by the Company Store & the throw is a find from Omaha's local boutique, House of J. The throw will go at the foot of the bed. I'm thinking bronze colored sheets but cant find the color I want, at the thread count I want.

Also, FYI---Bombay Company is officially going bankrupt and all of their stores are offering amazing deals on their current stock. I grabbed a couple pairs of curtain panels today for $17/pair. They have beautiful stuff, at beautiful prices right now. :)

The Madeline...

My new winter fashion find of the season...mine is in charcoal and I love it! So chic! With my job, most of the winter I wear slacks, a coat and tall boots so I have built up quite a lovely selection of wool winter coats. One color I was lacking was charcoal, and I just stumbled upon this one at the Macy's (a mini Macy's in Sioux Falls) for 30% off. Score! This is the Madeline by Guess. I particularly love the super high, asymmetrical collar which will block out this nasty South Dakota wind. It also means I can slack off planning matching outfits since you can't see the top under such cozy outerwear. Even better! Now I just hope I move somewhere cold so I can wear it next season too.

I gave in...

So I was near Pottery Barn Yesterday and dropped in...only to find a great sale happening. I said I wasnt going to do PB pillow covers again but I found some that I had been eyeing for a while on clearance for dirt cheap. I didnt notice how bad my old covers really looked until I put the new ones on. My goodness, it was time! There are two new covers that I used, one is envelope style, with a big button in espresso and the other is a french knot style called maple, but is more of a peachy neutral. Rusty, my boxer baby, doesnt seem to want to let go if my old ones. Notorious for clearing the couch of all pillows before he naps, he sought out the only one that remained covered in the old fabric and claimed it as his headrest. :) He's so darn cute.

And, today I finally got a good new picture of me...my look changes often and my haircolor is really never the same. I am a natural blonde but prefer to be darker...and auburn is my new hue. Well, not really new, but...this was us today!

My Loot and Redesign...

So here are the awesome fabrics I found yesterday. All were a whopping $4.99/yd...but originally marked at the least $24.99/yd. I have had a change of heart for where I am using what but here's what we're working with. The backdrop is the color of my office...Toasted Nutmeg by Behr.

Plan:

A-Chenille-will be used to make two Euro Shams likely for my Master bedroom. I ordered a solid coordinating duvet cover and will continue to look for a few coordinating fabrics for accents. The color looks great with my deep olive walls & walnut furniture.

B-Microfiber-will likely be used for my do-it-yourself headboard I plan to make for my future guestroom. I plan to cover batting padded plywood, and mount it to a dark stained wood slab and affix it to a wall...more on that project when we know where we're moving...

C-Linen-this currently lines a pinboard I have hanging above my craft table (will add that project here later) and I am not sure what I will do with it yet. Was originally meant for headboard covering, but microfiber is more durable. Goes best with the printed fabric...so we'll see...

D-chenille-possibly for some pillows? Not sure what I will do with this yet but it was so cheap. Looks great. Might be some neutral pillows for living room if I can ever find a cool print for the main pillows...

Here's just another look. The colors can so easily be manipulated to look totally different tones than they really are. The fabric does really match my office well.

I ordered a duvet for my master bedroom in the color second from the left, below. The potential (if the color is right) is for the Euro's to be in the print above. All linens ivory and bring in just one other simpler fabric for a couple accent pillows...I'm getting ahead of myself. Let's see if the duvet works first. You can find these at The Company Store, my favorite place for linens&basic bedding like down comforters & pillows. My grandma got me hooked on them as they are based near her in Wisconsin and they used to run a cheap-as-dirt outlet in her small town. They had unbelievable deals! Now, they have a secret online outlet you can find here.

Fabric Euphoria!

I stumbled upon the most amazing textiles store while I was winding through Sioux Falls, SD today. I picked up a bunch of inspiration--all of their designer fabrics were 80% off! It was unbelievable! Since I finally purchased my first sewing machine this week I have been eagerly hunting for new projects. I am currently looking for fabric to create new pillow slipcovers. I have used Pottery Barn covers for several years now and they bore me. The catalog always looks the same. So I am searching for the right coordinating patterns to cover my overpriced PB "inserts."

I found some amazing fabric (will post pictures later, since I am traveling!) that is my inspiration for my future guest room...I will game plan that in a future post where I can include pics of the colors.

Oh I am sooo on a textile high!

Bye bye flowers...

Well...tonight we are in the twenties. It definitely feels like winter. How soon is too soon to decorate for christmas? I think two weeks after Halloween is perfectly acceptable. But, before we get there, here is the fall decor. Complete with Mr. Viscious himself.

(Kim, note the wedding bows put to good use)

Given we had the wettest October in history here, it has been a very strange sight--the leaves are all on the ground and fell to very GREEN grass. The color show was amazing this year, mostly because the trees were set on a bright green canvas but with the unseasonable amount of rain & warm weather, the plants did crazy things. For the very first time, I experimented this spring with some gardening and had quite a bit of success! My impatiens just finally froze this week, but they sat under a tree with no leaves for nearly a week! It looked so funny to have a blooming flowerbed at the base of a leaf-less tree! Here is my photographic ode to spring planting...now that it is all dead in my trashcan.

Impatiens, with King & Queen Froggy (I have a slight obsession with frogs)

*photo taken the week of 10/22!! Still blooming strong! *Below is what these vibrant plants begas as...

Rusty next to my beautiful Petunias.

Front yard landscaping...Experimented with Spirea

And lastly...my backyard landscaping, mostly Hostas from the previous homeowner

Clock Project

So I looked and looked and couldnt find a clock in the right shape, style or scale for my kitchen. I went all over omaha in search of the perfect clock and then began online shopping. Nothing suited my standards so I figured I would have to settle for what was just OK and customize it.

I found this clock at one of the local discount retailers (half the fun is the hunt, right?) and at a bargain price snatched it up. I didnt like the color at all, since nothing in my house was the weathered rasperry color. But that could be changed...I liked the face & hands enough to experiment.

So I popped the face out of the frame and got busy with the exterior shell. I used a cheesecloth and some black satin paint to gently coat the exterior to make it more of a soot black, with a hint of this reddish base showing through. I dabbled it on in layers.

And this is the final outcome. The softened black looks opaque in the photo but it is actually quite translucent and matte, which makes it a nice, soft, sooty black. It goes perfectly with my accessories & style.

Not bad for $13!!!

Mitchell Corn Palace

Seeing as I do live in "Husker Nation" I found myself driving in a part of my territory that is home to the Mitchell Corn Palace. I never took the time to drive by to see what this "palace" was but an article in the newspaper peaked my interest and I thought that I should check it out.

Every year an artist does sketches of a number of different themed scenes and they become art, made out of corn, on the walls of the palace in Mitchell, South Dakota. There are roughly 20 different types of corn grown to produce many different colors used in the art. Last year's drought in south dakota put the annual project on hold until this year, when there were enough crops to complete the mural. It costs nearly $130, 000 to complete the murals annually. The artist plots out what colors of corn go where and a group of workmen, using special saws cut each cob in half, and affix it with a nail gun. This year's theme was community service so the art depicted Firemen, Policemen, Teachers, Doctors and more. It is really amazing!

Men hard at work

Artist's Instrutions All Corn!!!
More corn!!
wow...pretty creative art.

Spices = Art?

So I was looking at my cluttered kitchen the other day and thnking about how I could make it look less cluttered (again, sticking with the un-decorating process I am embarking on.) I was looking at my spices, a cluttered mess of red McCormick labels and other mismatched containers and began to brainstorm. My house is pretty much decorated in the colors of my spices, so how could I display them? Remembering a thought from one of my design teachers (you can see her blog here) I decided I was going to try to transform the necessary into something beautiful. Surely I could display the colors...

I went to World Market, one of my favorite stores, and found a bunch of clear glass jars. I wanted them long & narrow so I could maximize space. So I bought a bunch of them and began the transferring process. Boy did it smell good! Ginger, sesame, tarragon, onion, cinnamon...I love cooking & I love spices! So I removed the wrought iron spice rack off the wall and lined up the beautiful jars of color on top of my stove. Since we are only going to be here another few months, I didnt want anything permanent so I am brainstroming for my next kitchen...but this will work for now.

Inspiration:

(and I may purchase the long skinny shelf for our next place depending on layout)

Here is my UGLY looking BEFORE picture:

And AFTER:

(If we were living here longer, I would have tiled the backsplash...maybe next house!)

Clocks

So for some reason, almost all of my decorative clocks have burned out this week. I guess they call them decorative for a reason. Good thing I wear one on my wrist because my house is full of the incorrect time! YIKES! I have been freaking out, thinking I am late all of the time...if you know me, you know I am never late. So this is a problem.


So one of them I will not part with, it will go to the clock repair shop but the kitchen clock (which I consider my home's major time source) will be replaced. I have been all over looking for just the right one and have had no luck, so I am turning to online shopping. This is my current favorite:


And, for those of you not familiar with Z GALLERIE, make yourself familiar! It offers beautiful style & accents at very affordable prices. Style is a cross between Pier One & West Elm. Some of it is borderline Pottery Barn-ish, but usually funkier.

Who pays that for JEANS?

I was reminded just which state I am currently living in today at the grand opening of our brand new Costco. (YAY!)

As a lover of designer jeans, I am always in search of a bargain on a great pair of Sevens, Paiges, Hudsons, True Religions...you know, the basic piece of a woman's wardrobe! You don't skimp on a basic piece. You just don't! Back in California, Costco was notorious for getting in an entire pallet of Sevens or other designer jeans and selling out the same day-- so if you hit is just right, you had to fight with all the other Danville women for one of the limited five sizes that were offered. So with high hopes, I made arrangements to get to Costco within 45 minutes of its grand opening just in case there was a pallet of my coveted jeans...turns out, if you live in Nebraska, you needn't hurry to the clothing section of Costco to beat out all the other women looking for the designer jeans.

After feverishly rushing through the ridiculous crowd...I saw the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow...an entire pallet of Sevens and oh my gosh! An entire pallet of True Religions on the other side! Woohoo! They had them! As I began digging through the vast selection of styles and washes I noticed something was off...something wasn't right. I didn't have to dig. I didn't have to fight. In fact, I was the only one even remotely paying attention to this sea of "bargain" denim. And yes, absolutely, at $109 a pair, these jeans was a ridiculous bargain...right?!? YES...they are usually at least $200...TRs are $300--BARGAIN!!! Yeah...well...with a plethora of sizes and not a competitor in sight, I calmed down...and began to listen. "Who on earth would pay one hundred dollars for a pair of jeans." "Well isn't that ridiculous, look at the price of those." "Holy moly, why would you buy those when you could have these [holds up a pair of five pocket $39 Gloria Vanderbilt mom jeans] that are just fine." I stood there thinking (and feeling guilty) don't hate me because I am not fat and can actually wear these. Don't judge me because I like nice things. I work hard for my money and love a designer anything! Oh my gosh! Not only do these people not care, but they think I am CRAZY! I was getting stares pacing around the giant pile of perfectly folded jeans. Perfect stacks of 26's, 27's, 28's, 29's, and 30's. A complete set. Do I buy one? Two? Which ones? I made my decision. Got to the register, these people wouldn't quit. The guy rang them through, looked at the $112 total and looked at me with his eyebrows just about touching his receding hairline. "Is this right" he asked me. I smiled. "Those are a bargain," I said. "WHAAT!" He looked at me like I was nuts. "Those would be at least one hundred dollars more anywhere else." He shook his head, took my credit card and well, I proudly left the store with my bargain designer jeans.

I returned five hours later for another pair for myself and some sevens for my husband too. The piles were still untouched.

Hopefully, we will get them again. But, I am not holding my breath. Nebraska just might not be the place.

My new A Pockets! SCORE!

I'm an Auntie!

I became an Auntie on October 17, 2007 to beautiful little Kyra! She is just a little miracle and I am counting down the days until I get to meet her!

Uncle Tommy banned pictures of her (little protective?!?) but her mama gave me permission. :)

By the way, her mama Kim's love of bright colors looks just beautiful here...her house is so different from mine as far as colors go but she has a knack for putting great bright tones together--as evidenced here! Baby Kyra's room is bright cantaloupe orange! Love it!

**just realized how much this picture pops on my blog...it is the same colors! No wonder I liked it so much---they are my favorites!

The Urge to Redecorate

My house is done. Completely decorated from top to bottom. More decorated than most homes. Overdecorated? I am learning the answer is YES so I keep removing stuff and packing it away in the "decor" container, one of 22 rubbermaid containers organized by color and contents in the garage. Recently, I have been unimpressed with my bedroom. I redid it about six months ago and it will stay the same until we move but I have me eyes on a new comforter. Hey, a girl can dream even if its not practical, right? The problem with studying design is that I am learning more and more about how many mistakes I make in my own space, and I want to correct them. Tastes change and so do color preferences. Mine are on the verge of an upheaval as I am suddenly wanting to simplify everything. Less stuff, better core pieces. I love my home...but I am ready for a change!

So here is my current coveted piece. I found it in my recent issue of Elle Decor. It is full of my favorite shapes and colors, as I am finding myself obsessed with paisley prints, chocolate brown and a complimentary blue/green shade. You can find it at Bloomingdales...which only hints at its astronomical expense. So pretty!

Marketing & Music

Recently, I have realized that my main exposure to music and especially new music comes from TV. Whether it's a commercial or the brilliant track set to a scene, I find that the media has introduced me to my recent artists of choice. I have saved FEIST in my Sirius Satellite radio player so anytime the group comes on, I can sample their music. My other current pick is Regina Spektor, who's music has also caught my attention on TV. Can you figure out where they were exposed? (answers at the bottom) Neither of these clips are their most exposed tracks, but both were on TV this week.

FEIST

REGINA SPEKTOR

(first 40 sec)

ANSWERS:

FEIST: This song was in the opening scene of Grey's Anatomy, 10/11. You know them from the iTunes commercials advertising the new nano as the group that sings 1, 2, 3, 4, tell me that you love me more...

Regina Spektor: This song is the current JC Penny's ad. You know her from Fidelity, overplayed on the radio.

Music promotion is changing.

Do you like my facelift?

Anyone who knows me knows that I cant be satisfied with a generic design. I pretty much customize everything I own and my blog is no different! I designed my header with photoshop and fussed with the colors on my page to create the perfect combination using this handy html color tool. I encourage you to get creative with your own blog and if you need any help or are looking for suggestions, I'd be happy to help. These two colors (or variations of them) are my favorite colors. They are all over my house and my wardrobe! Do you know that they look best paired together because they are opposite on the color wheel? Use this as a rule of thumb when decorating! You can always step right or left to your main opposing color and achieve harmony in a space. Example (use the color wheel below as your visual): if you are using green, you can step to either side of red to choose a complimentary color. Choose to pair your green with either orange or violet and anything in between to create something appealing to the eye.

I found this great decorator's color wheel which carries the colors you would most likely choose for a home.

The publisher also included these color design basics:

• In the center are the primary colors - Red, Yellow, and Blue. From these, all others are made.
• In the inner ring are secondary colors - orange, green, violet, made by mixing equal amounts of primary colors. Mix red and yellow for orange, mix red and blue for violet, and mix blue and yellow for green.
• In the outer ring are the tertiary colors - achieved by mixing varying amounts of one primary color with the adjacent primary.
• Mix a large amount of red with a small amount of blue and you will get a red-violet color. Do the opposite for blue-violet. Increase or decrease amounts form many hues in between.
  

There's your color design lesson of the day!

Camp Bow Wow

Rusty went for his very first day at the brand spankin' new Camp Bow Wow Omaha and had a blast! If you are a dog lover and havent checked out this new franchise business yet you might want to. It functions both as a doggy day care and an overnight "camping" service with locations opening around the country. I think it is very affordable and boy, did he have fun! One of the coolest parts of the business is the 10 camper cams located all over the indoor/outdoor facility. My family gave me text message updates of what he was doing all day long while I was out on the road. You can also download the program for your palm so you can check up on your pooch!

A few notes from Rusty's "D-Tails" card:

-I played with my friends in the doggy cabins in the outdoor play area
-I played with Cash(a german shepherd) and realized I like the water bottle
-I was sooo good I got a treat
-I had so much fun playing at camp, I need to go home and take a nap
-I was an ACTIVE camper!
-My overall experience was 5 TAIL WAGS!

Does this look like a happy puppy or what?!?

Do you especially like the spit-stache?

The Cuppy Cake Song

So my family is weeks and maybe just days away from our newest addition, a baby!!!! SO EXCITING!!! Given the husband's side is quite unique and none of them hesitate (not even for a second) to belt out a tune...in key...off key...lyrics known or unknown...we now have a family song! My mother in law decided that the following song will be our family baby anthem and has religiously memorized the whole thing. You might find it amusing. I think it is just adorable.

You're my Honeybunch, Sugarplum
Pumpy-umpy-umpkin, You're my Sweetie Pie
You're my Cuppycake, Gumdrop
Snoogums-Boogums, You're the Apple of my Eye
And I love you so and I want you to know
That I'll always be right here
And I love to sing sweet songs to you
Because you are so dear

Lowfat Chocolate Chip Meringues

I was in a baking mood this weekend and wanted something that wouldnt totally kill my nutrition. These are very tasty little meringues and the best part--each one has only 26 calories and 1 gram of fat!

Filling my makeshift pastry bags. I used mini chocolate chips in half and Andes mints chips in the other half.


Ready for the oven.


And the trick to staying thin: give most of them away! Packaged for delivery...I have lucky neighbors.


Here is the recipe: