The Anatomy of a Picnic

The Fourth of July is a perfect time for a picnic! This year we spent the 4th of July at the Dallas Arboretum picnicking and watching fabulous fireworks. Here are a few suggestions for a chic and romantic picnic experience.                                                                                                  


1. A Sweet Carryall

Picnic Time Catalina Rose Basket via www.cooking.com

Cath Kidston Bleached Flowers Picnic Hamper via  www.cathkidston.co.uk 

2. A Soft Place to Land 

Anorak Kissing Rabbits Blanket via  www.littlebabycompany.com 

JJ Cole Travel Blanket via www.laylagrayce.com 

3. Delicious Food and Drinks

What are some of your best tips for a fabulous picnic experience?    

Vintage Doily Project

I am so ecstatic for Mad Men tonight! I have been so patient! I cannot believe it has been 17 months since the last season. I  cannot wait to see what Don Draper and Peggy Olson are up to!

But enough about television.....let me share a project I completed this weekend......

I had a few vintage doilies that I had been collecting and I thought that if framed, they would be sweet little accents to our bedroom. 


My doilies were very delicate and were quite yellowed, so I had to use a combination of Oxyclean and Woolite to brighten them up. 


I purchased two antique-style frames and picked up some acid free card stock to mount
them on.  Then, my sweet hubs hung one above each side table in our master bedroom. 


I am so pleased with the result and I am looking forward to my next project. I just bought one of these......   

Have you embellished one before? If so, please share a link to your project for some inspiration!  

Shabby Bunny Jar

Spring has officially sprung here in Texas! Flowers and trees are already blooming and local stores are filled with beautiful decor for springtime. 

This weekend I found some cute little porcelain bunnies at Joann's (they had a great coupon) and I thought I would try to design something around them. I had a leftover spaghetti sauce jar on hand and so I thought I would create a little diorama. Some ribbon, scrapbook paper, craft paint, and a little moss later .....and ta daaaaaa....a cute little spring display! 

I think it will go very nicely displayed next to the little bird's nest I made last spring. 

What are you working on? 

I'd love to see some of your springtime crafts!

Modern Mixed Media Map

I am so excited to have finally finished this project that I have been working on for longer than I want to admit!  It's a mixed media U.S. Map inspired by the Modern Art master, Jasper Johns. 

To create my own piece of modern art for my living room, I purchased a piece of Cavallini wrapping paper to use as my template. I pulled pages that contained blue and green images from magazines to use to collage. I originally collaged both the country and the oceans with the magazine clippings, but was unhappy with the outcome (go figure). I decided to use two shades of blue acrylic paint to fill in the ocean to allow for greater contrast. I am tempted to go back and add some city names to it, but I am afraid I might overwork it.

What did you make this weekend?

Pretty Paper Roses

“You are responsible, forever, for what you have tamed. You are responsible for your rose.” - Antoine de Saint-Exupery 

Have you ever checked out Ruffled? It is a fabulous source of inspiration for weddings and trends that are both creative and stylish! I just love it and try to stop by weekly for inspiration. 


Anyways, a recent visit there inspired me to make these paper roses for the wedding keepsake box I am working on. I took a little licence with their tutorial. I used two different papers per rose. I also cut the spirals with edger scissors for additional texture and added paper leaves. I was very pleased at the way they turned out. 


I can't wait to show you my finished keepsake box! It has been a couple years coming!

"But friendship is the breathing rose, with sweets in every fold." - Oliver Wendell Holmes

Valentine Delights!

My husband loves peanut butter cups, so this year I thought I'd try to make some special homemade ones for Valentine's Day.

I picked up a Wilton candy mold, a package of Wilton Dark Cocoa Melts, and a package of Peanut Butter Candy Melts. I chose the Melts because they taste pretty good, but mainly because they melt so easily in the microwave. I wanted the candy to have a little bit of a richer taste, so I ended up mixing the dark cocoa melts with another dark candy bar and a little extra peanut butter with the other ones.

I was very pleased with how they turned out and how little time it took me to make them. I can already think of several types of candy to make in this mold. Next time, I think I'll make them with more peanut butter and less chocolate. 

What are you making for Valentine's Day?

Just in Time for Halloween!

"Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower." -Albert Camus

It's been a crazy couple of weeks, but I finally finished my fall decor and right in time for Halloween!  I hope to be able to incorporate my creations into this year's Thanksgiving decor, so I don't have to put them away so soon. 

I just love sculpting papier mache objects. Painted or decoupaged, they have a whimsical look that I just adore. This year I created some pomegranates and pumpkins for my living room!

What are you crafting up this fall?

Happy Halloween my friends!

"How beautifully leaves grow old.  How full of light and color are their last days."  

-John Burroughs

The Wall Street Journal and Pumpkin Pancakes

On the weekend, my husband and I love to make each other brunch and to read the Wall Street Journal together. I know we are total nerds, but we both just love to keep on top of current events and lifestyle trends.  The Saturday edition is always very interesting, it covers a broad range of topics and my eyes are always  opened up to new things. This week I learned all about  Bordeauxs and how a family in Florida planned to build their own version of Versailles, but due to the current credit crisis they are on the brink of foreclosure. 


Anyways enough about that, back to the yummy stuff --


It was my turn to come up with something, so I did some research into Pumpkin Pancakes. I had recently been to Austin and had some delicious Gingerbread Pancakes at Kerbey Lane, so I thought I'd try my hand at homemade pancakes. They didn't look perfect, but they sure tasted good! I think the secret is a really hot griddle, but I lacked the patience to let it get hot enough. The last picture is one of my best batches ( it took me a few tries before they were photo worthy)! 

Pumpkin Spice Pancakes 

1 1/4 cups all purpose flour

4 tablespoons sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice

1 cup pure pumpkin

1 1/3 cups 2% milk

4 eggs yolks

1/4 cup butter, melted

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Mix together dry ingredients in a large bowl. Combine milk, pumpkin, eggs, melted butter and vanilla in another bowl. Oil a nonstick griddle and heat on medium heat. Pour batter onto griddle. Cook until bubbles form, about 1 minute per side.

My craft post is coming soon! The drying process took a little longer then expected!

Happy Independence Day!

Independence Day has always been one of my favorite holidays! Amazing firework displays, tasty bbq dinners, family, sun, swim, and surf ! 

We did a lot of swimming today, grilled steaks, enjoyed good wine as well as a the blueberry crumble I made. I have a little problem following recipes to the "T", so this one was a combination of a Fannie Farmer and Cook's Country recipe. It wasn't as pretty as I wanted it to look, but it was absolutely delicious and pretty simple to make. 

Fork's Blueberry Crumble 

4 cups blueberries 
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon salt 

2/3 cup flour 
1/2 cup oats 
1/4 sugar
1/4 brown sugar 
1 teaspoon cinnamon 
6 tablespoons butter (cut into pieces)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees

Mix the first three ingredients together and set aside. 

Combine flour oats, sugars and cinnamon in another bowl. Fold in butter with a hand mixer until clumps form. 

Place berries in a 9 by 9 pan and sprinkle crumbles on top. Bake for 30 minutes or until filling is bubbling and topping is golden brown. Serve with vanilla ice cream.

This is a holiday that really gets me thinking of, praying for, and wanting to thank all the wonderful folks in the military and their families who are making great sacrifices that continue to guarantee the safety of our country and the freedoms that my family and I enjoy.  So this Independence Day, I'd like to encourage you all to visit the Gary Sinise Foundation website.

Gary Sinise has been a tireless advocate for our military and veterans. He has recently formed a foundation to continue his mission of supporting the military and their families. In addition to launching this foundation, he has released a documentary film about his band that travels around the world entertaining the military and their families.  When you stream his film, "Lt. Dan Band: For The Common Good" during the month of July, one out of every four dollars will be donated to The Gary Sinise Foundation. This is a very worthy cause that does wonderful work for those who make many sacrifices to protect us and our freedom.  I hope you'll visit his site and check out his film! 

Happy Independence Day! God Bless the USA! 

Celebrating the Royal Couple

In honor of the Royal Wedding, I hosted a little celebration for myself. Sadly, I could not coerce my husband into participating. He much preferred his beauty sleep! 

Harney & Sons Royal Wedding Tea and Twinings Royal Wedding Tea were  for obvious reasons, my first choices of tea to drink. Unfortunately, the grocery stores near me didn't carry them. 

I ended up picking up a box of Twinings Prince of Wales Tea to enjoy instead. It is a smooth black tea and it was delicious. I ended up drinking the whole pot throughout the festivities!

** If you'd like to read about some of my other favorite teas, click here . **

I also made  cream scones from a recipe that I adapted from my trusty Fannie Farmer cookbook. They were fairly simple to make and very tasty! I made them bite-sized and round for a little twist on this classic English quick bread. I enjoyed them with more butter and some scrumptious strawberry preserves.

Mini Cream Scones (adapted from Fannie Farmer's cookbook)

2 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 tablespoon caster sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

4 tablespoons butter

2 eggs

1/2 cup heavy cream

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. 

Mix the dry ingredients.  Work in butter with a spatula (best if butter is at room temperature) until the mixture resembles coarse meal. 

Beat the eggs and the cream into the dry mixture. Stir until blended. Pat the dough out on a board to about 1/4 inch thick. Use a mini biscuit cutter to cut in to rounds.Place the rounds on the cookie sheet and bake for 15 minutes.

**Click here to view another one of my favorite quick bread recipes. **

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What a lovely morning -- the pageantry of monarchy was so thrilling to watch! 

Congratulations to the happy couple! 

Best wishes for a lifetime filled with infinite possibilities!

Bananas!

I think I subconsciously let my bananas turn brown just so I can make Banana Bread!

My absolute favorite recipe for Banana Bread comes from the classic American cookbook, Fannie Farmer. I finally received my own copy this year, so now I don't have to call my mom every time I need a recipe from it.  It's quick and easy to make and your house will be filled with a delicious aroma! I alter the recipe to make it a little bit healthier. 

Give it a try, I am sure you and your family will enjoy it!

Fork's Banana Bread (adapted from Fannie Farmer's cookbook)

3-4 ripe bananas

2 eggs

1 cup all purpose flour

1 cup whole wheat flour 

3/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

Mash the bananas in a bowl and beat in the eggs. Sift together the two types of flour, add the sugar, salt, and baking soda. Combine the two mixtures and stir well. Pour into a buttered loaf pan. Bake 1 hour at 350 degrees.