Almost Wordless Wednesday - The Beauty of Decay

There is something strangely beautiful in old, decrypted buildings. There is history and a story. These photos by Numi Thorvarsson are of abandoned buildings in Iceland.

Grab Your Crayons and Color Your Walls

(Photo courtesy of 2jane)

Paint-by-number art is back in a whole new way. Channel your inner artist and grab your crayons, markers or paint pens. A super creative company, 2jane, has created a line of wallpaper strips that are also paint-by-number. Bold graphics can be colored in as much or as little as you like. I think these would be perfect for a kids room. How many kids would love to be told, "Go color your walls."? I know I would have loved it!

(Photo courtesy of 2jane)

Here's another creative product from 2jane. These lace decals adhere to windows giving privacy to any room while still allowing full sunlight to shine through. They could also be used on glass cabinet doors. The decals come in a variety of styles that give an elegant touch to any room. To install, simply add water and adhere.

Introducing Spring 2009

(Photo courtesy of Mr. Christian Louboutin)
Happy first day of spring! Here is a little eye candy from Christian Louboutin's spring 2009 collection

I Hope You're Wearing Green!

(Photo courtesy of Betty Crocker)

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Well on this St. Patrick's Day I haven't found a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow, but I did find a delicious Irish Soda Bread recipe. This bread is perfect to go along with your corned beef, cabbage and mashed potatoes (dyed green with food coloring of course!). Soda Bread is a very quick and easy bread that freezes well. This recipe is from Ms. Crocker.

3 Tb. butter softened
2 1/2 cups flour
2 Tb. sugar
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/3 cup raisins
3/4 cup buttermilk

1. Heat over to 375 degrees F. Grease cookie sheet.

2. Cut butter into flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder and salt in large bowl until mixture resembles fine crumbs. Stir in raisins and just enough buttermilk so dough leaves side of bowl.

3. Turn dough onto lightly floured surface. Knead 1 to 2 minutes or until smooth. Shape into round loaf, about 6 1/2 inches in diameter. Place on cookie sheet. Cut an X shape about 1/2 inch deep through loaf with floured knife.

4. Bake 35 to 45 minutes or until golden brown. Brush with butter or margarine, softened, if desired.

Oh the Weekend!

(Photo by HouseLewis)
I'm going here this weekend. I'll be curled up next to the fire with a good book and a cup of cocoa for the majority of the weekend. Ahhh...relaxation.

Wordless Wednesday - There may be snow in the air, but spring is in my heart!

(Photo courtesy of Kim Cornelison)

Chicken Pot Pie with a Side of Girl Scout Cookies

(Photo by HouseLewis )

Yesterday was my Mom's birthday, and to celebrate my sister, dad and I combined efforts to make dinner. My contribution was homemade chicken pot pies. They were D-E-L-I-C-I-O-U-S! The recipe I used is below. The original recipe is intended for making a large pie in a 9x13 dish. However, I wanted to serve mine as individual servings in ramekin dishes so I made some alterations. To see the original recipe check it out here.

Tonight I made 4 more pot pies with the leftover filling. I made a 1/4 of the crust recipe and decided to only make crust for the tops of the pies. I also used whole wheat flour. It was a healthier option and tasted really good.

The next time I make this dinner I'll probably make only 1/2 of the recipe. The full recipe made enough for about 13-14 ramekin size pot pies! My sister had the great idea of using the extra filling for a soup...yum! (Note: 1/2 of the crust recipe was enough for 7 ramekins with crust covering the inside and the top of the pies.)

Ingredients

Crust:

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 3 sticks frozen unsalted butter, cut into small bits
• 1/2 cup ice water mixed with 2 tablespoons white vinegar

Sauce:

• 1/2 stick unsalted butter
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour (plus a little extra)
  
• 2 cups chicken stock
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 cup milk
  
• 1 tablespoon ground sage
• 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• Salt
• Freshly ground black pepper

Filling:

• 1 (8-ounce) box frozen green peas
• 1 1/2 cups sauteed button mushrooms
• 2 cups cooked, diced carrots
• 3/4 cup frozen corn
• 1/2 cup diced celery
  
• 4 medium potatoes, parboiled and diced, with the skin on
• 1 (8-ounce) box frozen pearl onions
• About 7-ounces chicken pulled off a cooked rotisserie chicken
  
• Nonstick cooking spray

Glaze:

• 2 egg yolks
• 2 tablespoons cream
• 1 teaspoon water

Directions

To make the crust: Mix flour, salt and butter together until well combined. Slowly add in water/vinegar mixture until dough comes together. Dump out onto saran wrap, mold into two balls, cover and place in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

Dump out the dough and form 2 balls. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large saucepan, heat the butter until foamy. Add the flour, whisking constantly until blended. Remove from the heat and whisk in the stock, cream and milk.

Put the pan back on low heat until the mixture has thickened. Add more flour as needed, but you don't want the sauce to be too thick. Taste for saltiness. Whisk in sage, nutmeg, salt (if necessary), and pepper. Remove from the heat, and in a large bowl, combine with the vegetables and chicken. Set aside.

Fill oven-safe ramekins with the chicken and sauce mixture.

Roll out the crust and cut a circle slightly larger than the ramekin. Place on top of the chicken mix. Crimp the edges with your fingers.

Mix the egg yolks, cream and water to form a glaze and brush on the top of the pies.

Place in the oven and cook for about 30 minutes (If needed, increase oven temp to 400 degrees F). Cook until the crust is golden and slightly crunchy. The filling should be bubbly.

Let pie rest for 10 minutes before serving.

Oh yeah...The side of girl scout cookies! My mom gave me some girl scout cookies and I put them in the freezer to try and stop myself from eating them. This was not a good idea because the darn cookies just taste even better when their frozen!

Happy Happy Birthday, May All Your Dreams Come True!

Happy Happy Birthday Mom!

I LOVE you!

(Photo courtesy of Flickr)

Style Without Breaking the Bank - You Light Up My Life

A key fundamental in design is that lighting can transform a space. It can set the mood, it can make a statement, and...it doesn't have to break the bank. Pendant lights in particular have the ability to give the "Wow" factor to a space. Here are three spin offs of designer pendants that you can make at home.

Below is a designer shade (I apologize but I can't find the original source of the designer shade.). It's kind of a beautiful mess of felt swirls. Design*Sponge has a great (and EASY) d.i.y. for this fun pendant light. The only items you'll need are a $9.99 lamp from Ikea, white felt, scissors and a hot glue gun. The d.i.y. knock off is created with layered white felt circles.

Designer

D.I.Y

(Photo courtesy of Design*Sponge)

Hanging colorful drum pendants is a great way to add interesting color and texture to a space. Sometimes that pop of color is all it takes to wake up a room. The designer picture are shades from Room & Board, and each shade costs $449.00! The d.i.y. picture is a drum shade that has been transformed into a pendant light. The appropriately named "Lampshade Lady" gives clear how-to steps for creating this piece of art. Make sure you take note that she recommends the use of an electrician for installation!

Designer

(Photo courtesy of Apartment Therapy)

D.I.Y.

(Photo courtesy of The Lampshade Lady)

The final example is a spin on the modern shades that are constantly gracing my the local Design Within Reach storefront windows. They are modern, fresh, work in almost any space, and they will cost you $435.00. The d.i.y. is an incredible creation from Instructables. Using a stencil, you trace and cut out pieces that you fir together in this grown up version of a old school geometry project.

Designer

(Photo courtesy of Design Within Reach)

D.I.Y.

(Photo courtesy of Instructables)

Chocolate Cups

I'm sure you've been salivating as you wait for the promised how-to for my chocolate cups. In the last Daring Baker's challenge, the Chocolate Valentino, I created these chocolate cups to hold coffee ice cream. Oh yum! I wish I had some now! They were quite easy and can be used for so many different treats. I'm already planning a dessert for berry season!

So here goes...start by placing paper cups in your muffin pan. Melt chocolate in a double boiler. The amount of chocolate depends on how many cups you're making. I would say you need an overflowing handful per muffin cup. Using a kitchen paint brush, paint a THICK layer of chocolate on all sides of the muffin cups. If it's not thick enough the cup will fall apart (no worries if it does. Just re-melt the chocolate and try again).

Once you have your cups covered, place the muffin pan in the freezer for about 20 minutes. After they are fully chilled, carefully pop out the hardened chocolate and peel off the paper. Fill with whatever your little heart desires...
And enjoy!