Cooking, Baking and Eating!

Last weekend the Hubs and I headed down to Eastern Market to get our hands on some great Michigan produce.

We came home with a haul!


For dinner that night I made Acorn Squash soup


and for dessert, roasted nectarines with slivered almonds


which we ate over ice cream


This whole week, I've felt so behind with work and trying to get our yard in order for the coming winter. I've been so behind that I almost forgot about my pending Daring Kitchen challenge!

The September 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Mandy of "What the Fruitcake?!", Mandy challenged everyone to make Decorated Sugar Cookies based on recipes from Peggy Porschen and The Joy of Baking.

I have to say that I almost didn't do this challenge. The sugar cookies were no problem, it's the decorating part. I can not decorate a cookie to save my life. Slab on some frosting, sure! So I went the easy route and colored my cookie dough and made First Day of Autumn cookies!

Fawning Over - 9.17.10

This week I'm fawning over...

1.


The fair city of Ferndale, Michigan will be hosting the 3rd Annual DIY Street Fair this weekend. Beer Garden, Bands and Crafters galore. More information can be found at the Fair's Website. I will be volunteering at the event this year.

2.


In case you didn't realize, Christmas is only SIX paychecks away! This necklace from Etsy Seller Lana0Crystal will be on my wish list!

3.


Last Sunday, the 12th marked my first wedding anniversary to my dear husband. I so love how our wedding photos turned out. Our photographer Amy Boeve did an amazing job and would love to work with her again for some family photos one day.

4.


This year was our first try at having a vegetable garden and we have tomatoes up the wazoo. Smitten Kitchen posted this seemingly super easy recipe for homemade pasta sauce I might need to try out.

5.


On our last Ikea outing I picked up a couple of these vases. They look really cute grouped together with a few small blooms or alone with one statement flower.

wall art

Now that our living, dining and kitchen have all been painted (pictures coming soon) I'm been thinking about what to put on the walls. We have a few things up now, like some of our wedding pictures. I love the idea of something like this!


monkey & squirrel on Etsy


the spiced pear on Etsy

These seem like they would be pretty easy to make, especially the second ones. Maybe it's time for a trip to Joann Fabrics to look for supplies!

Autumn resolutions

I have been a terrible blogger. I need to develop a better routine in many areas in my life. Can I create Autumn resolutions? Turn a new leaf, perhaps? This week I have felt the start of Fall deep in my bones. Waking up to darker skies and temperatures in the 50s has been refreshing.


Paper Leaves by Kellie Dykast on flickr.

I view Autumn more as a time of rebuilding than of retreat. As the leaves fall, it seems as though Earth is releasing a sign of relief, letting go of a backlog of burden held on to through the hot dry days of summer. It's a time to grow new roots.


tinatarnoff on Etsy.

Fawning Over - 2.26.10

1.

It hasn't been above 35 degrees in over a week. Warm stews and soups have been on the menu. This curry recipe over at Smitten Kitchen is perfect for this time of year. It's pairs well with Trader Joe's Garlic Naan.

2.


I recently came across the artist Blanca Gómez's Etsy page. I love the prints and greeting cards!

3.


Great step by step instructions for making Yo-Yos by Heather Bailey. I want to sew these on to just about everything I own.

4.


I am so inspired by this Before & After over at Design Sponge. This would be darling in a toddlers room or guest room.

5.


We will be tearing up our carpet and refinishing the hardwood floors soon. I love these Poufs from West Elm as a seating option for parties.

Living Room Mock-up

I made a mock-up for our living room plan. We have all the furniture pieces in the image as well as a couple vintage items. I'll get pictures of them on here soon. I want to get a new coffee table. I would love something like this from Wildflower Organics but it is WAY out of our budget. A girl can dream I guess.

Fawning Over - 2.19.10

Here are five things that are on my radar this week.

1.


This recipe from Smitten Kitchen is all that I could think about this week. I think it would go perfectly with some Quorn Naked Cutlets and diced tomatoes.

2.


I've had my eye on these necklaces from Etsy Seller Noemiah ever since Heather over at We Met at a Bar bought one. They are the perfect combination of a statement piece and dainty.

3.


There is just something about this kitchen area picture from The Style Files. I love the composition of the picture, the colors in the room and the use of the letters. I think the letters would be a really cute idea for a baby's room.

4.


We are in the process of planning our summer getaway long weekend. All I can think about is sitting at the beach at the Cherry Tree Inn in Traverse City.

5.


I want garden stool from Overstock.com so bad! I think it would make the most adorable side table for our living room. I just can't bare to spend $100 on it!

Kitchen Envy

I am suffering from some major kitchen envy. I like our kitchen but I'm not in love with it. It has excellent potential given it's size.

This is the floorplan of our kitchen area.


Anyway... We've started painting the walls in the main kitchen and breakfast nook the Mandarin color. We're doing white, chocolate brown and a buttercup yellow for accents. The kitchen cabinets, countertops and flooring are a big thumbs down. Once it gets nicer out and we can actually open a window we're going to start sanding down the cabinets and paint them white. I also want to replace some of our upper cabinets with opening shelving.

I love the look of this kitchen


Photo by Jon Jensen.

Right now our back splash is white subway tile, which is really nice but I think this is such a statement. It's recycled glass!


Photo from HGTV.

Color Planning

We have struggled for months with paint colors. We had a general idea of what colors we wanted for our living, dining, kitchen areas but picking the actual colors was work. We found the our kitchen and living room colors first. After a few months with the living room color we decided to didn't love it and it was making it harder to pick a color for the dining room. So off to Lowes we went.

I think now we have finalized our color story for the main living areas.



All the paint is Olympic. We have used it several times and have had great results. Additionaly, it's a no VOC paint!

The Big Before

We got lucky with our house. After inspection we were told there were no "major" items that needed to be tackled right away. Music to our ears considering our house was built in 1921. At closing we found out that we were to be only the third owners of the home!

Here are some before shots!

Front Porch


Part Living Room & Dining Room


Kitchen & Breakfast Nook




Bedroom #1 (small)


Bedroom #2 (medium)


Bedroom #3 (large)


Bathroom


Back Yard

New Leaf

About two months before our September 2009 nuptials we purchased this gem of a home. As we've settled into married life, home design ideas have been racing in my mind. Thus the creation of this blog-land. Enjoy!