New Website

So this is the reason I haven't posted very much this month.  I have been busy building Carole Paine's logo and website. I spent all day yesterday fixing last minute issues and I am excited today to finally say its done.

You can visit the site at CincinnatiAcupuncture.com (let me know if you see anything askew!).

Daffodils

One of my favorite things to do in the spring is to pull out this vase and fill it with daffodils.  I bought the vases and wire holder at World Market a couple of years ago and it is one of my favorites.  I love the vintage look of it.  Happy Spring!

Echinoderm March!

Its Echinoderm March!  OK, I know its a little late, but we went to the Dominican Republic for Spring Break.  I wanted to post some DR photos but I haven't had a chance to go through them to see if they are blog worthy.  However, today I was motivated because I have been making appointments with tub re-glazers and roofers and I needed a March calendar.  My brain somehow went from tubs, to water, to starfish...yeah for echinoderms!!!

Happy Belated Valentine's Day!

So I spent this Valentine's day laying in bed... which under normal circumstance might be a good thing. However, most of the day I was either sleeping or trying to get saltines to stay in my very tired tummy.  Somehow I got food poisoning or had the stomach flu.  Either way, not how I envisioned spending one of my favorite holidays.  Then, when I was starting to feel better I got a head cold and have spent the past week trying to get over that.  So needless to say I am finally ready to get out of bed and start living again.  Hence, my blog today!  I think I might even eat those chocolates!

Fungi February!

Its fungi February!  I don't know why, but I felt inspired by mushrooms this month...and, of course, Valentine's day.  Happy February!

Quiche, Strata, & more

This spinach mushroom cheddar quiche is easy to make and only takes 3 eggs! You just cook 2 pkgs of frozen spinach with  a clove of garlic, some olive oil, an onion, and some mushrooms.  Then you add a cup of cheddar cheese and pour it into your pie crust (that you previously spread with Dijon mustard).  After that you mix 3 eggs, 1/2 cup whipping cream, and some salt and pepper and pour it over the spinach.  Then you top with paprika and Parmesan and bake it at 375 for 35 minutes.  I think the recipe came from cooks.com.

My friend Mary made this incredible Bacon and Egg strata for the shower.  Not only was it delicious, but I love the warm cheesy orange and bacon-y red colors.  Ooooh, its making me hungry just looking at it.

I just had to take a photo of Mary's cute vases with tag holders.  The Apple French Toast was gone so fast I couldn't get a photo of it.

Baby Shower Carriage Cake for Twin Girls

Today I co-hosted a baby shower for my friends who are having twin girls and this is the cake I made for the party.  At first I had the idea to make 2 carriages, each with a baby inside.  However, after using all of my white chocolate for the top of the first carriage I decided perhaps both babies could fit together inside one carriage.

The cake was comprised of two cake layers.  The first layer was made with a regular 9 inch cake pan.  The carriage layer was made with half a soccer ball cake pan (a half sphere).  First, I iced both layers with cream cheese frosting.  Then I used a delicious buttercream for the colored icing.

The top of the carriage was made by melting white chocolate (with a bit of kefir) and then painting it on to a half sphere cake pan lined with saran wrap.  At first it didn't go very well and I almost gave up.  The chocolate didn't want to stick to the saran wrap, but after the first layer was down it was easier.  I just wish I had made it a little smaller so the babies inside would be more visible.

I made the babies out of Starbursts.  Two orange Starbursts slightly warmed and rolled together make one baby head.  I also used one Starburst for the body below the blanket.  To make eye holes and ears I used a toothpick.  The hats and pacifiers were made of icing. 

The final step was to place the golden Oreos on for the wheels.  A big plus (or minus, depending on how you look at it) of this cake is that now I have a whole bag of Oreos left over.

More photos of the shower to come!

Baby Shower Invitation

The last issue of Martha Stewart Magazine inspired this baby shower invitation.  They had an article on Darcy Miller and how she had an art opening for her scrap boxes where she did quick line drawings of all the guests.  I loved her drawings so much I decided to try my own.  I always like line drawings that are able to capture the essence of a person with simple lines. 

Now I have to think about the cake!

Radiolarian January!

I needed a skinny calendar to go on the wall near the computer.  Last year I didn't have one and I missed appointments left and right.  So this year I decided to make my own one month at a time.

When I decided to make it I thought, "What are my favorite things right now?"  The answer was folk prints and ocean creatures...you can't get better than that.  So I decided to go with that theme.

This month features a radiolarian.  Enjoy!

Vegetable Soup

I was making vegetable soup the other day and I am always struck by how beautiful the pot looks when its filled with carrots, celery, and onion. I love the orange, green and white.

I also love warm soup in the winter. George and I have been making this vegetable soup a lot and I never get tired of it.

Here is the recipe:

Olive oil
1-2 cloves garlic
3 stalks celery
1-2 onions
2-3 carrots
1 carton vegetable stock
3-4 fistfuls spinach
1 container mushrooms
Cheese and/or sour cream for topping

Pour olive oil into large pot (enough to thinly coat bottom of pan - maybe 4-5 tablespoons). Slice garlic, celery, onions and carrots and cook in olive oil until softened (about 5-7 minutes). Add entire carton of vegetable stock. Fill vegetable stock carton with water and add to pot. Bring to a boil and then simmer for at least an hour. Add spinach (if you like spinach you can really add quite a bit). Let spinach wilt. At this point I like to grind it with a hand grinder to make it a smooth consistency. You can just leave it if you like it chunky. Add mushrooms and cook until they are soft (5-10 minutes). Serve hot and top with cheese or sour cream.

This recipe is very flexible. I add random (often unidentifiable) vegetables from the CSA and it always turns out delicious. You can also add chicken or turkey if you have it.

Insulate!

OK...I know this is not the most exciting post, but I feel super happy to have this project crossed off my list. George and I (OK, mostly George) spent a good portion of Sunday lining our kitchen cabinets with 2 inch foam insulation.

Our kitchen is freezing so I thought this might help a little. The problem is our kitchen has no heat source. I think it used to have a radiator, but right now the only way head enters is when it slowly seeps in from the other rooms. Also, all the outer walls in our house are plaster directly on brick. So there is no insulation in the walls. Oh, the joys of older homes!

Anyway, most of the time we will see if from this view so we don't have to see the blue foam. I also covered some 1 inch thick foam for the bottom with this fabric I had left over from the bathroom project.

I did the same thing for this fan above the stove. I love the fan, but in the winter it just lets in cold air.

Costa Rica 2010!

I haven't been writing lately because we rang in the New Year in Costa Rica on the beach! George has been taking Xavier students now for three years. We had a great time on the Osa Peninsula and then at Bijagual Ecological Reserve near Sarapiqui.

One of my goals on this trip was to take a real vacation - and that meant not taking too many photos. In years past I lugged the Canon Eos 20D around everywhere...but this year we bought a smaller Canon Powershot SX120IS. I wasn't overly impressed with it and I think we might return it. I'm not sure I can go back to a non-SLR.

Anyway, George took the above photo on our flight to the Osa. I couldn't resist taking a picture of this two-toed sloth through the scope. She was beautiful! Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas

I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas. I had to post this photo of the wrapping paper I found at Ikea this year. It is the cutest paper ever! The gnome tags really make it.

I also got this green paper there too. You gotta love the folksiness of it.
I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and I wish all of you a very Happy New Year!

Christmas Cookies

I made these cookies last week and I loved them! I don't normally gravitate towards a chocolate-based cookie, but I am a sucker for any cookie with icing. If you would like the recipe send me an email. Happy Baking!

Ikea Bird Ornament

This was one of my favorite new ornaments this year. I got it at Ikea. The thing that surprised me about it was that when you hang it the thin white glass looks and feels like a light bulb. It made me laugh and like it all the more.

Candy Cane

The other day I bought these candy canes for a cookie recipe and I just threw the extras in this cup. I was totally struck by how pretty they looked so I had to take a picture. Don't you love it when something accidental turns out so wonderfully?

JOY!

I had been eyeing these letters at Hobby Lobby for a long time. You know how every time you go to a store and you see something and you want it, but you don't allow yourself to get it?

Well, one day this summer everything came together perfectly. I had just gotten home after a trip to Hobby Lobby where I had been ogling the letters as usual, when my friend Lori called and asked me what I wanted for my bday. I told her I wanted JOY!

So there you have it...the story of JOY. I hope your holidays are filled with it!

Look at the great shapes cut into these letters! It fills me with joy.

Happy Thanksgiving

I just wanted to say that I am thankful for each and every one of you. Thanks for supporting and encouraging my blog habit. I find such joy in thinking about it and working on it.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Wood

A couple weekends ago we went to Deep Creek Lake in Maryland for George's Dad's 70th birthday. We had a great time and stayed in a big house on the lake.

Walking down by the lake was fun because there were all of these big old tree trunks that had great weathered-looking wood. I took about a million pictures of all the wonderful lines and wrinkles, but don't worry I won't bore you with all of them...just a few that stood out.

This one reminds me of Yoda.
Click on the one below to see all the great texture and detail.

Falling Water

We visited Frank Lloyd Wright's Falling Water house this past week and I loved it! Everything was so custom-made. My favorite part of the house (besides the fact that it sits on a waterfall) was the fireplace pot. He built a fireplace where a gigantic spherical red Asian pot can swing over the fire to boil water. When it is not in use it sits in its own custom half sphere carved out of the stone wall. Totally awesome! I wish I could have attended a party there and sipped hot cider with Frida and Diego.

If you ever have the chance to stop by and see it you really must. It was wonderful.

Pumpkin Carving

OK, so I wouldn't exactly call it "carving"...more pumpkin "drilling." My arm got tired drilling so many holes so George had to finish it off.

Happy Halloween!

Moon Photos

When we went to put our pumpkin outside I noticed the moon looked great through the branches of the trees. It was also super windy and warm.

The exposure on these photos was like 20 seconds and the clouds were moving so it gave an eerie effect.

Happy Halloween

I found these little beauties at World Market. I fell in love with them as soon as I saw them. They totally remind me of Mexican Day of the Dead skeletons and I thought the gold tooth was a nice touch.

I had them in the kitchen for a while before we put them up and they kind of creeped me out. But I love them on the porch. They will look super spooky for Halloween...I can't wait!

Striped Pillows

I made these striped pillows a couple weeks ago. I love love love the fabric. It is a Ralph Lauren fabric from Calico Corners. Next spring I am going to reupholster the settee these pillows are sitting on. I am either going to do a nice grey blue or butter color. I am not super crazy about the choices from Sunbrella so I am putting the decision off until spring.

Halloween Cookies

My friend Mary makes the best halloween cookies. They have cream cheese icing and are irresistable. I think I ate about 5 or 6 that night.

The photo below made me laugh because it is kind of a sad little happy face.

Kitty on Candlewicking

I got this wonderful tablecloth at the flea market. It has candlewicking all over it. What is candlewicking you might ask? It is a form of whitework embroidery that gets its name because originally women used the cotton twist yarn used in candle making. Also, knots were often used because they could be felt as much as seen under poor lighting conditions such as candlelight or fire.

I totally love the white on white. It is subtle, but beautiful. I liked it so much I just got 5 books on candlewicking from the library. I may have to try this.

My grey tabby Sunshine decided she loved the beautiful textured candlewicking too when I laid it out to dry on a bed. I couldn't shew her off of it because she looked too cute.

Here she is annoyed at me for waking her from her nap. Silly girl!