Sweet Bait

Meet "Muffy"

2010-12-01T21:12:00.000-08:00

I just wanted to share "Muffy". She may be my favorite painting that I've completed to date. The little bird brain paintings are fun, but I wanted to challenge myself a bit. I'm so glad I did. It's strange how things work out when painting. I can feel it when one is going my way (this has happened one other time) and I know from the near beginning that it's going to come out. Muffy was so much fun to paint and I love her. Love her enough that she is now living on my dining room wall! Hope you like her as much as I do!

"Lighter" Potato Soup that I made not as light...

2010-10-23T06:25:00.000-07:00

It's starting to get cold out and all I want is soup. This potato soup recipe was a first for me and it will certainly not be the last time I make it! My friend Beth gave me this fantastic recipe. It was super easy and tasted liked baked potato heaven. I know a lot of potato soups have butter, whole milk, and regular bacon but this one is skim milk, no butter and turkey bacon. I was a little skeptical that it would not be as tasty, but it was wonderful! This serves 8 and is 329 calories per serving if you follow Beth's way, my way had real cheese and real sour cream so obviously the caloric intake is higher, but I stuck to the rest. I just don't like light sour cream and I'm not willing to compromise on cheese. I likes my cheeses!

4 baking potatoes (cooked for 1 hour in the oven. Peirce the potatoes and cook at 400 degrees)

1 cup of flour

6 cups skim milk

1 cup light sour cream

1 tsp white pepper

1 tablespoon Kosher salt

1/4 cup chopped green onion

1 cup reduced fat grated sharp cheddar cheese

4 strips turkey bacon crumbled (cooked nice and crispy)

I started off prepping all my ingredients and getting the bacon cooked. I put one cup of flour in the bottom of a dutch oven and gradually whisked in the 6 cups of milk. You don't really need to boil this, but just get it "bubbly". Whisk in your salt and pepper. Every time I say salt and pepper I get this stuck in my head...ooh baby baby...ba baby baby...Salt and Pepa here...sorry, just a little 90's rewind. Anyway back to the soup. It will thicken.

Next, scrape the "guts" out of the potatoes into the milk. I broke the chunks of potato up a bit for smaller bites. Add your sour cream, green onion, and cheese. Keep whisking until the cheese melts.

Why does turkey bacon have ruffles? Anyway, you're now ready to serve up your soup. Add some extra cheese, onion, and bacon on top. Curl up on the couch, try to keep the dogs off you while you eat (stupid turkey bacon) and know that your freezing fingers will soon be warm cause that bowl is crazy hot!
Enjoy! :-)

One last note. These are the little things that may make me a crazy person. I love my mums on the front porch and honestly, this window basket was crazy cheep from the dollar store...I'm talking maybe $8. So my thing is, they are trying to make it cheep I get that...why do they have to put the stupid leaf thing on the front!? It looks stupid I'm going to try and take it off and hopefully can just touch this up with a little paint. (I also hate that the previous home owner put the house letters on the diagonal.) People stop putting things on the diagonal! It looks bad, it also looks bad when you do it with artwork. You may as well hang your art too high while your at it. OK, I'll stop being a grump and complaining and when we paint the house I'll get new house numbers and hang them straight.

Have a great weekend!

Trading Art...

2010-10-21T05:59:00.000-07:00

Last week I went to Caroline Zama's (my pottery instructor ) to do a little glazing on a small pitcher I made in class. Caroline asked me if I would bring a few of my little birdbrain paintings so she could see them. I did and to my delight she wanted 3 of them. We were able to work out a trade...some of my paintings for a few pieces of Caroline's beautiful pottery. I'm so excited to have these wonderful pitchers! I love the little birds and the earthy, natural feel to her work.

I'm glad Hillary, Tilly, and Lizzie have a good home!

Fall Clean Up

2010-10-17T20:05:00.000-07:00

It seems to be that time of year again when I take the plants from spring inside for the winter... (wait I just let them die last year). OK...sorry I got confused, it's Martha who brings in her plants. Yes, yes, she puts them in her gazillion foot greenhouse and has about 20 "plant people" that take care of them. OK, back to reality. I really was cleaning up the mess that the front porch had become. I brought the plants in for the first time and put them into the guest bedroom/ sewing room/ art supply storage room/ ( the dining room is also the art supply storage room) / my "getting ready room", that's what the boy calls it because I keep my clothes in there, plus a roller rack of clothes due to the fact that we live in an old house with no closet space. I'm loosing my point. The point is, I'm so proud of myself for actually dividing up the plants into their own little pots and bringing them inside for the winter! After all, I spent a small fortune on them and it would be wasteful to chuck them and buy new again next spring. We bought some lovely mums for the porch. The poor boy, I made him drive to 3 different places because I wanted some orange mums, and he never complained once!

Above: I filled the flower box with the button mums. Three colors of cream, orange, and sort of a deep wine.

Below: Last springs flowers that never bloomed (strange). There were snapdragons and geraniums that should have bloomed like crazy, but.... nothing.

I love loads of mixed flowers in a large pot...makes a statement. Statement being that I can't decide on what plants to buy.

This is the same succulent that was in the blue pot above, it's HUGE! It's sitting on my great grandmothers vanity. I love the amber handle on her vanity, she loved Scandinavian modern....she had great taste!

It looks like a crazy plant lady lives in this room...ugh...one day I'll have a Martha greenhouse and my sewing machine can have it's spot back.

Cherry Cheese Danish

2010-10-05T05:49:00.000-07:00

This is a super easy and delicious recipe!

For the danish
2 sheets of puff pastry
1 can cherry pie filling
1 8oz pkg cream cheese
2 Tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla in cream cheese

For the icing
1/4 cup powdered sugar
milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon lemon extract

OK...this is easy peasy...preheat your oven to 375 OR 400 if your oven is like mine (in need of repair). Thaw your puff pastry, unfold, and cut in to squares...make them whatever size you like. I like mine a little smaller.

Make cream cheese filling by heating your cream cheese in the microwave to soften. Just 10 seconds or so, you need to be able to stir it around. Mix in your sugar and vanilla.

Assemble by putting a blob (that's a technical term) of cream cheese in the middle of pastry square....I spread it out a little bit on the diagonal down the center. Dump (another technical term) some of your cherry pie filing over cream cheese. Take the two sides of the pastry that you didn't spread cream cheese on and fold over the center...pinch together so it stays closed. Bake for (crap I forgot to time it) ummmm maybe the pastry box will tell you? Maybe 12-15 mins? Maybe you just keep checking it? I sort of tell by smell...when I can smell it I check on it.

When you're done let the danish cool on a wire rack. I put the wire rack on top of the baking sheet I used so it catches the drizzle from the icing.

Now, on to the icing...just mix your powdered sugar, extracts and milk till you get a nice consistency for drizzling. Should run off the spoon, but not overly runny. After the danish is cooled completely drizzle your icing.

Poor some ice cold milk, pop in Cobra (or your favorite Sylvester Stallone movie). What, you don't have a favorite Stallone movie? What, your home alone? Party on ....put in Sex in the City and eat your cherry danish!!!!

Paula Deen

2010-10-04T05:08:00.000-07:00

Hi Ya'll! I just wanted to give ya'll a run down on Paula Deens restaurant at the Horseshoe Casina (Casino to you northerners). All I can say is it's just like you think it would be...hoe cakes, fried stuff, and butter! It's sort of like Cracker Barrel as far as the concept of country cooking and shopping. There's loads of butter and southern fried favorites.

This is a country mess! Lets start at 12:00 on the boys plate. That appears to be smashed potato's, 1:00 fried shrimp, 3:00 shrimp cocktail (minus the cocktail...he has an aversion to horsey sauce and possibly gravy...why is there no gravy on those potatoes? Maybe their grits?). 4:00-7:00 is a giant hoe cake. I had to be schooled on the hoe cake, as I had never even heard of them until I moved to Kentucky. It's some sort of cornbread/pancake thing. The boy said it was almost as good as his grandmothers! Last but not least we have Paula's Mac & Cheese. This was the only thing I was a little disappointed in and I feel guilty saying that just because I wouldn't want to hurt Paula's feelings (because we're such close friends) but it was a little bland.

This is one of the dinning rooms. Very pretty and I would say it has some of that Savannah style. The Hoe cake stand and the Deen Brothers Barbecue (outstanding BBQ by the way).

Here is my first plate (it's a buffet ya'll). Shrimp cocktail and baked oysters. I think that's an onion ring on the right. All very tasty. This is my "main course" plate. 2:00 Green beans. 4:00 frog legs, this was a first for me and they do not taste like chicken. I'd say it was more like fish, the look and texture of the meat was definitely more like white fish. It didn't taste like fish, it was it's own thing. 7:00 mashed potatoes WITH gravy...the BEST gravy I've ever had in my entire life gravy! I think it had a little red pepper in it or something...it was outstanding! 9:00 fried chicken. And last at 11:00 more of that mac & cheese.

On to dessert. All I can say is heaven. The boy and I picked a little bit of this and that and shared a bite of a few things. The chocolate cake was perfect with loads of yummy icing. There was also this other cake that had pecans in it and tasted sort of like a Famous Dave's cornbread muffin that turned into a cake with cream cheese icing. YUM! There was also loads of candy and cobbler, and pie, and confections. We were to stuffed to sample very much, but we gave it a good try!

These looked so pretty I had to take a picture. We didn't try them, but they look great!

Bye Ya'll!

Shaker Village

2010-10-03T06:50:00.000-07:00

Last weekend my parents came down from Indianapolis to spend a relaxing day in Kentucky. The boy and I took them to Shaker Village and it was truly a perfect day. We finally had some relief from the 100 degree temps, although being thrown into 60 degree fall days would not be my ideal (hello...where did 75-80 degrees go) but I'll take it. We toured the fantastic buildings of this village and ate lunch outside under an old oak tree. This place is somehow serene even with lots of other people touring it. Only bad thing was I forgot to charge my camera battery and about halfway through it died and I had to switch to using my phones camera...of course the one thing I really wanted a shot of...the famous staircase came out gritty...stupid forgetting to charge battery!

Meet one of the Shaker Village residents...."McDuffy"...look he's showing you his pretty teeth!

Two More Witches

2010-09-28T11:35:00.000-07:00

I should probably start painting something else, but I just love Halloween and all things "crafty"! ;-)

Meet Bird Brain Miranda & Bird Brain Rosamund!

Three Bird Brain Witches

2010-09-23T10:33:00.000-07:00

Despite the temps hitting close to 100 this week (101 today) I'm feeling the fall/halloween mood. I've taken to painting some more festive "bird brains."

Meet "Bird Brain Hazel"

Bird Brain Lucinda...& Bird Brain Tabitha

Pottery, Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins, and AWESOME Garage Sale Find

2010-09-20T20:32:00.000-07:00

First off I want to say that this post is pretty much some pictures and captions because the boy and I went to The Paula Deen Buffet today and well....we are pretty much on fried food/butter/country food / SWEAT TEA (yes even though I hate sweat tea I had to do it right) overload...lots of pics to come and a full review of the carnage in the next day or so...as soon as I've recuperated!

As promised, here is the results of my second pottery class. Sort of a fun little fat bird. I used stamps to make the pattern and a balloon is used to get the body shape.

Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins...a la Betty Crocker...pretty good for a quick morning muffin fix.

This is my awesome garage sale find! $3...that's right a three bones...three bucks...three green backs...I don't know what it costs regular, but I know it's a lot more than $3.

When you don't know what to take...

2010-09-14T17:58:00.000-07:00

This is my "go to" when I have to take food to something and am running short on time. It's simple, pretty and everyone eats at least something. This was for my pottery class that I sometimes take and I usually have to be there right after work...this works beautifully.

I use a huge casserole dish (easy transport and much prettier than Tupperware). I hate the fact that I have all these pretty dishes and can't use them if I'm going somewhere. So now I've ditched the ugly plastics and just drive carefully.

Contents are as follows.

Strawberries

Grapes (I try to chose things that don't require being cut up or will oxidize)

Brie

Herb goat cheese

Pea pods (blanched and I just snip the "V" with the kitchen scissors)

Roast Red Pepper Hummus

Loads of crackers

...anything will do as long as they are not too salty...this is not the time for Chicken in a biscuit! I like to save chicken in a biscuit for when I need to hide in the closet with a can of spray cheese.

Just in case you're interested here is the results of my pottery class...this was my first try and I really enjoyed it and have since taken another. My instructor is incredible! Her name is Caroline Zama and is the owner of Star Bird Pottery...please check out her website. She is so creative and truly one of the sweetest people I have ever met!

This is "pinch pottery" and not done on a wheel.

Ahhh Football Season...

2010-09-12T11:23:00.000-07:00

I don't know about your house but at our house the world stops turning for football. The TV is the size of Lucas Oil Stadium just so we can see Payton Manning's pores. It's important stuff. The dogs even get into it, their big Payton fans. OK not really...but they do enjoy lounging on the couch, except when the boy yells at the TV...Phoebe starts to shake nervously, then Pippa crawls on top of Phoebe. OK I'm making all this stuff up about the dogs...this picture is just so weird...What is Pippa doing? Are they practicing their cheerleading pyramid for the state championships?

Well, I think I'm going to do one of two things today....bake a blueberry pie or try and copy the lemon cream cake from Olive Garden. Foodies don't get all high and mighty on me, the lemon cream cake at Olive Garden ROCKS!

I'll let you know how it goes.
Have a great Sunday! GO COLTS!

Picasso Meets Shaft

2010-09-10T18:58:00.000-07:00

Where to even begin... Do I really even need to say anything at all? It's truly amazing what comes in through the front doors at work. On the one side we have 1 of 17 Picasso's' that an interior designer brought in for their client. They are part of a series Picasso created called "Imaginary Portraits". Apparently there are 29 and I would say for a person to have 17 of these lithos from the series is a very impressive collection. Picasso worked with a famous lithographer named Marcel Salinas to create these images.

I know your thinking that I must be the smartest person to know all this stuff.

Well.

I am.

Just kidding....thank you google, once these came in we started to panic about the value and hoped our insurance would cover them in case of earthquake...tornado...zombie ground hogs sent here from the planet Zoron to feast on all things paper.

If zombies were ground hogs would they stay underground?

Anyway, the later painting "1970's Love Den #4" smells like it came out of a love den of funk. The thing that is so amusing to me about this (clearly not the stench emanating from the picture) but the amount of skill someone had to have to create this "work of art". Truly a technically talented person. I don't mean the fact this person can draw is amusing, but the fact that the Picasso technically looks like a big ol mess and it's the "master work". Of course I'm not the biggest fan of Picasso even though I can appreciate what he did for modern day artists and the fact that he is the king of cubism. I'm rambling at this point...look I warned you there would be plenty of verbal diarrhea.

OK...here is a little painting I did a few years ago...it's no Picasso and it doesn't smell. It's the Chapel at Tlaquepaque in Sedona Arizona (say that three times fast).

Fantastic Amish Bread Recipe!

2010-09-09T05:25:00.001-07:00

I'm not so sure what makes this "Amish" as it tastes like the same bread my mom made when I was a kid and if I'm not mistaken she got that recipe from the old Betty Crocker book.

I adore the old Betty Crocker book. It gives helpful tips for the "modern" woman.....LIIIIKE, don't bother your husband when he gets home from work. He's had a long hard day. ALSO, make sure you look pretty for him and that the children are washed and clean. It's fun for a laugh, one of these days I will scan a page out of my moms copy. If you order the 1950's copy of this book they have taken this info out. I think that's a shame, regardless of it being oppressive it is part of our history and certainly part of the American culture of 1950's domestic ideology. And, as much as I hate to say it, and even though these are not popular ideas one has to admit there is probably some truth in it. But I also like the saying "Happy Wife, Happy Life". I heard that on The Real Housewives of New Jersey! haha

Here is the Recipe

Post Office Idol

2010-09-08T16:46:00.001-07:00

If you read any of the jibberish I write you know that I'm trying my hand at Etsy. The above photo is a watercolor I did that a lovely man from Sweden named Krister purchased along with two other paintings. This was very exciting for me because growing up and even into adulthood I've been obsessed with Swedish culture. It's even lead me to a "shady" past. When I was about 13 I never returned a book on Sweden to the school library... on purpose...don't worry I paid the fine for a "lost book" but I will forever feel guilty that the next kid who wants to do a book report on Sweden will now have to pick Estonia or Latvia.

On to my point...obviously a trip to the post office was in order, also some paperwork for customs that would prove to be slightly lengthy. After getting my artwork boxed up at the packaging counter a woman entered the post office with an announcement to the people in line.

"Whoever parked their car and left in running is blocking the mail trucks and no one can get out!" A woman who was about halfway up the line threw her package down on the counter, rolled her eyes and huffed off saying "I guess that would be me!"

The woman with the announcement entered the back of the line and I had finished my package so I took my spot right behind her. A few minutes later the double parked woman came back in reach in front of the announcement woman to grab her package she left and said "can I cut in line?" Before I go on I have to tell you I was shocked that this woman would have the nerve to not only be so inconsiderate to park behind people just so she would be close to the door, or she was in a hurry, or whatever her excuse was, but the fact she had the nerve to ask to cut in line!

I bring you Post Office Idol....announcement womans reply was very stern...

"NO. What you do was so rude." (at this point I became a little giddy inside because I would have been like..."oh, ok, no problem" even though I would be wishing I had the nerve to tell this woman how rude she was.) Double parked woman just stormed out. It was great!

It seems like people are always taking advantage of other people and to see someone stand up and say NO...your rude was fantastic!

P.S. The Swiss Chard is still going strong...I am thinking about planting a "winter spinach garden" this fall!

Bird Brain: Robin and Mabel

2010-08-17T14:17:00.001-07:00

This is a bird brain I did of my sister and her daughter...I

am taking custom orders for your own bird brains! Obviously it's not going to look like you, but I can do a representation of you...hair, beauty mark...that sort of thing.

Finally....some cooperation!

2010-08-11T18:44:00.000-07:00

Finally some cooperation! The "Red Spotted Purple" butterfly in the above photos let me take a ton of close ups unlike his buddy the other day (see previous post). The only real disappointment was that the largest monarch I've ever seen would not hold still for a shot...I stood out there forever ( have 15 or so mosquito bites to prove it) waiting to catch a shot...finally I said forget it and snapped this one of him flying around behind our garage.

Finally some

Dreams, Butterflies, Rainbows, and Lollipops

2010-08-09T20:50:00.001-07:00

There is nothing about rainbows and lollipops in this post, but dreams yes, and butterflies yes. First off, I'm a house hunting junky and I just can't get this one out of my head. I want it...or at least one like it. Simple, clean, charming, charming, charming. A house that can have bunting on it and hold a modern work of yard art. I love the windows of this house. One day I'll find my saltbox (this is not a saltbox but it's almost as good).

On to butterflies...I've taken a TON of photos of butterflies and one thing they all have in common is they are showoffs. They love the camera. Their like Naomi Campbell minus the attitude. Well until today....this little prima donna would not let me get close at all, and I never EVER find blue butterflies. This was the closest I could get. Just as I gave up and was heading inside this poor little ugly duckling moth came along with a "pick me pick me" attitude ....I didn't want to hurt his feelings.

Queen of Sheba Louisville and Bird Brains

2010-08-08T18:51:00.000-07:00

Meet my "Bird Brains"...
In order we have Penelope, Beatrice, and Deirdre. It seems I'm incorporating the little black birds again. It's something I noticed about 2 years ago...looking around the living room all of a sudden I realized I had a metal sculpted lamp with birds perched on a "branch", a pillow with some mod looking birds, a painting with birds and well...you get the picture. As for the Queen of Sheba bit....the boy and I ate at this great little restaurant with the for mentioned name. It's Ethiopian food and was very tasty! We had a shared platter of beef Derek Tips (YUM!), lentils that I believe were called Kik wot, and Alicha Doro wot-a chicken and potato dish cooked with garlic, ginger and turmeric. It was also served with a fantastically fresh salad with lemon dressing that was a real treat considering most restaurants serve that disgusting, dried up, preservative coated, gross bag lettuce. The dish comes out on a giant silver platter and you are served this soft bread type of thing called Injera...looks sort of like a spongy pancake that you use to scoop up your food. It was a bit strange eating my salad with my fingers, it does however state on the menu that forks are available upon request. But hey...when in Rome (or Ethiopia)!

If your in Louisville and want something different this is a great place!

Oy it's hot...

2010-08-03T17:32:00.000-07:00

It's soooo hot out today, I think tomorrow is supposed to be something like 100 degrees! As a former resident of Arizona 100 degrees should not be that big of a deal, but with the Kentucky humidity pressing down it's miserable.

I spent a good 20 minutes outside today taking photos of some of my illustrations. I've been eaten alive by mosquitoes all in the name of art! I decided to put my stuff back up on Etsy. I think my first try was half hearted. You know, with work getting in the way of my hobbies and whatnot ;-) Etsy was a great experience and I need to really give it a serious try ( as I intend to do!)

Rainbow Trout with Lemon

2010-07-30T04:57:00.000-07:00

What can I say...it was the only thing I would eat as a child...

2010-07-29T06:31:00.000-07:00

When my sister and I were growing up it was almost a running joke in the family....I ALWAYS wanted a cheeseburger and my sister ALWAYS wanted fried chicken. We had a Jerry's restaurant not far from our home and on the occasion that we got to go there (how cool was this place...they had a cigarette machine by the restrooms!) we would never veer off the cheeseburger/fried chicken train. No spaghetti, no fish, no pot roast...it was always cheeseburger and fried chicken.

As a side note....I was always strawberry milkshake and she was chocolate milkshake. ALWAYS.

A new direction

2010-07-28T18:12:00.000-07:00

Just for fun I started doing some little illustrations and will start posting them here. I love to cook, but with the summer heat it's just to hot for firing up the oven. So, instead of cooking food I'll be painting food. I've always admired illustration art and this peice is sort of inspired by the works of Wayne Thiebaud. I don't kid myself that I even have a pinkys worth of talent in comparison to Thiebaud, but it's fun and a great way to relax after a long day at work.

One of my favorite sweets is chocolate covered cherries...really anything with cherries. One day I'm going to dump chocolate covered cherries in a cherry chip cake mix and see what happens. Untill then, here is my ideal of chocolate covered cherry cake.

Oh yes, and I'm going to try and post one illustration a day.....oy, lets hope that works out.

This post is a mess....

2010-04-11T21:09:00.000-07:00

Hope everyone had a Happy Easter! The Easter Bunny brought us amazing chocolate cake!

Spring!

Garden bed....there are now lots of salad greens growing and will get a pic of that this week...oh and the grass is looking much better after some seed action.

The before pics.... New yellow paint on the walls....at first I thought it was to dark, but I like it...warm and sunny all in one...not to mention the white looks SO much better on the woodwork....I still plan to install a shelf over the window to create some balance, I got the wood, but it needs cut down and painted. ( Thanks for the idea mom!)

Made a blueberry pie and it was AWSOME...the trick with crust is crisco....hey you have to die of something.

Sweet Pippa's new haircut.

I want this garden...

2010-03-16T20:19:00.000-07:00

I've been collecting photos online of gardens I covet. This is certainly one of them. It's from the movie It's Complicated. I didn't see this movie mind you, I've just seen photos of Meryl Streeps characters garden and home. It was featured in a magazine and it's been all over the internet.

This has made me think I want to do a raised bed...not that these are raised beds, but they are pretty clean looking and for me I think the best way to keep things weed free and clean is the raised bed route.

I looked at this bed via Home Depot, but thought it looked a little cheep. I think it's the plastic corners I'm not feeling.

So.....I found one that is all wood and I think will look great. It' only 4x4 but it says it will hold 16 plants and I'm thinking that if it's not enough room than I'll just buy another one.

(I also bought strawberries and rosemary....ahhh spring is in the air!!!!)

Garden Smack Down 2010

2010-03-02T14:26:00.000-08:00

This year my sister and I will be reinstating "Garden Smackdown". I'm looking for inspiration for my small yard. In my head my garden is awesome! It's also about $10,000. That's about $9,000 more than I have to spend on it. I plan to raid some family gardens, maybe invest in some fencing and the rest is going to have to be pure DIY or magic beans. But, at the end of the day, I'm just looking forward to the end of winter and seeing green again!

How about this photo of a small space garden! Not that I will be doing anything close, but I had to share the pure awesome and ingenious look of this "small garden"!

Ummm... no.

2010-01-23T14:22:00.000-08:00

I know the Golden Globes were a week ago but I'm finally playing catch up on good old celebrity fashion gossip (via Go Fug Yourself). As I was drooling over all the scrumptious glitz and glitter I came across one Miss Julia Roberts.

I just have to say that it's extremely disappointing when I see a Hollywood star dressed like...well...me. I don't tune in to award shows because I care who won a statue for some movie I didn't even see...I tune in to see the dress! It's all about the dresses! It's the same reason girls have weddings...it's all about the dress!!! I don't want to see a dress that I could pull off. I want to see the 6'6 stick thin, perfect skin, "star" dress like she should! In a bazillion dollar dress with a Cartier necklace that requires it's own body guard and some $1,000 pair of gorgeous shoes that house the most perfect pedicure you have ever seen. If I wanted to see this getup I could have just went to work.

Boo Julia, this was just lazy.

Four Layer Pumpkin Cake

2009-11-28T17:06:00.000-08:00

This year for Thanksgiving as an alternative to the traditional pumpkin pie, I decided to go for a "lighter" ( lighter is really a relative term, there is still plenty of bad stuff in this folks) dessert for the awesome turkey dinner that my mom made.

A thin slice of this pumpkin cake hit the spot after dinner...Here's the recipe. Now, I chose to leave off the carmel and pecans as it just makes this way to heavy. My boss made this cake a few weeks ago and brought it to work, she said the same thing, but you know what you would like.

Going for something festive to decorate the cake...these are orange slices, cranberries, and orange leaves. We have this amazing market here called Paul's Fruit Market, and I found the oranges with the leaves still on them...way too pretty not to use!

Pippa and Phoebe did really well on the journey north. They even sat next to each other!

Etsy (what's Etsy stand for anyway? Anyone? Anyone? )

2009-11-19T21:17:00.000-08:00

I've been taken over by the painting bug....the dineing room table is an absolute wreck. Dirty water, paints, and "inspiration" photos are everywhere. At work I find myself thinking up the next painting and subsequently not thinking about what I should be thinking about...work. As some of you have seen I've started putting some of my paintings up on Etsy and am finding it addictive! I use to be one of those people who checked their email every five seconds...now I'm checking to see how many hits I'm getting on my Etsy shop. Is it wrong that I get excited when someone "favorites" me? It's like I'm 6 years old all over again...THEY LIKE ME, THEY REALLY LIKE ME!

It's a sickness.

The Best Chocolate Cake you will ever eat....

2009-10-17T11:08:00.001-07:00

This is THE BEST Chocolate Cake you will ever eat....

Sometimes when you google stuff....like Recipes for Famous Dave's corn bread muffins, you realize the lies that are told on the internet! But this....THIS.....this is the sweetest truth I have ever found. In all seriousness, this really is the best, most amazing chocolate cake. I took it to work and everyone raved. One of my coworkers even said it tasted like a $50 cake. I think that means it's good and would be expensive if one purchased it.

Recipe

1 box devil's food cake mix

1 pkg jello instant pudding mix (fudge flavor)

1 cup sour cream

1 cup vegetable oil

4 eggs beaten

1/2 cup milk

1 tsp vanilla

2 cups mini semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Use a big bowl, and mix everything except the chocolate chips. The batter is thick! Mix in the chips and poor batter into 2 9" cake pans. Make sure to grease the bans with white Crisco...don't flour them or dust with cocoa there is no need...but I would not use butter or butter flavored Crisco...just plain ol white nasty Crisco, the cakes will pop right out.

Add 10 mins to the box bake time...just check it with a toothpick, but remember you have tons of chocolate chips in there so they could fake you out when your cake is done.

I doubled the recipe to make a 3 layer cake that I took to work...then we had the top layer for home.

You could use a butter cream frosting, but I find the white "whipped" frosting out of the can is the best with this cake, butter cream is just too sweet and I think chocolate would be to much as well. ORRRRR...just go ahead and kill yourself with a rich cream cheese frosting.

Puppie Mills, New Friends, and Pure Sweetness...

2009-10-11T14:11:00.000-07:00

Meet Pippa!This little squirt is our new puppy. She is an 11 month old rescue from a horrific puppy mill in southern Indiana. Boyfriend and I had been talking about getting a new dog for the last few months. We wanted to wait till after Trina past and see how we felt at that time. I had been searching Pet Finder and eventually found her through them. We talked about getting a miniature poodle since we both grew up with them. Actually we both had little black poodles. The chances of finding one that needed rescued were probably slim, and we were open to other breeds. I guess some things are just meant to be and thank goodness we now have Pippa!

Pippa was rescued by a Schnauzer Rescue. The mill had tried to breed her and when she didn't produce they were just going to "dispose" of her and sent her off to a kill shelter. She was in such bad shape the folks with the Schnauzer rescue thought that's what she was...a Schnauzer! Alas, after a grooming they realized they had a little poodle on their hands. She lived with her foster family for 4 weeks where they do rehab for puppy mill dogs. She has really come a long way in a very short time. She would only walk in circles in the beginning due to being confinded to a small cage, but now walks in a straight line and loves going for walks. Somewhere along the line at the mill her tail was cropped. Poodles do not have cropped tails and I only hope it was not a case (as often is with puppy mills) of her hair becoming entangled in the cage wires and they just cut it off (sometimes with bolt cutters). This unfortunately happens with limbs as well. Pippa's pads are in rough shape as well from burns after being forced to stand in urine. We also suspect she may have some vision problems due to this as well. Some older dogs even go blind over time from fumes. The bottoms of her little ears had to be surgically removed due the matting in her fur and they could not get them "unstuck" from the sides of her face. She had some scabs on her face that have all healed now.

I hate these puppy mills and shame on anyone who could do this to these animals. Please do not EVER buy puppies from pet stores, please adopt, rescue or find a reputable breeder!!!!

Pippa and Phoebe seem to be getting on quite well. Phoebe is not always the most friendly of dogs with "new" dogs, but I suspect maybe she knows Pippa had a rough start. Maybe she remembers her start was not so hot either.

I wish this picture came out better but I think these two doggies are the sweetest thing going.

Thai Food, Death by Dessert, and Spam

2009-10-09T20:02:00.000-07:00

Lets start off with a little Food Porn....

This gorgeous dessert is from a wonderful little dessert cafe called Sweet Surrender here in Louisville. I LOVE THIS PLACE! It's in a historic district, the cakes are SO pretty, the hot chocolate I had was REAL...not some powdered crap, and I picked up two Mexican wedding cake cookies for tomorrow. Maybe you call them Russian tea cakes....all I know is they are almond covered powdered sugar delight!

Now for a little house porn.....how cute is this house! If it were not raining we would have relaxed on the porch with our cake.

We also had some rockin Thai food at Thai-Siam before heading over to Frankfort ave. We had Laad Nah, spring rolls, and the most wonderful Thai dumplings that were served with this spicy green sauce. I have no idea what was in the green sauce, but it was amazing.

I'm really beginning to love Louisville with the exception of one thing....one HUGE turn off, the city seems to be having a very hard time getting a pig slaughter house to move it's operation to a more suitable area. Preferably away from the historic district where so many people are working hard to revive this area. There are wonderful houses, restaurants, businesses, galleries and so on. But, on a hot day, the distinct smell of SPAM is in the air!

Ugh, that can put you off your pretty cake. Let's hope they come up with something soon for the sake of the poor people who are working so hard to make this area something really special.

BBQ, Internet Lies, Meadow Muffins

2009-09-28T19:15:00.000-07:00

This is a Famous Dave's Corn Muffin....

This is my sad corn muffin...

Have you eaten at Famous Dave's BBQ? Have you eaten a cornbread muffin from Famous Dave's? If the answer is no, stop what your doing right now and go eat a corn bread muffin from Famous Dave's!

If you have, then you will understand my deep disappointment. There is one "copycat" recipes I want and it is this corn bread muffin. I keep looking online only to find the same recipe that claims to be this heavenly muffin minus it's jalapeno honey glaze. (Apparently the restaurant does not serve the jalapeno glaze, just a honey butter glaze.) I even found a post from a gentleman boasting to have gotten the recipe from a Famous Dave's restaurant manager. LIES I TELL YOU... LIES!

I spent the better part of my afternoon hunting down the different types of corn meal need as well as actually baking the muffins. The entire time I was so excited about the prospect of recreating these little gems in my very own kitchen. Just think, I would be a hit at pitch-ins, summer BBQs, Christmas dinner, housewives will beg me for the recipe, Trick-or-treaters will propel their plastic jack-o-lanterns in my door screaming for muffins in lieu of candy! BWAHAHAHAHAHA. Sorry...where was I, oh yes....muffin recipe.

I sought out the ingredients. I read the recipe 4 times. I baked the muffins. I did exactly as the recipe said. No stone unturned. All done with complete accuracy.

Final verdict....The muffins taste like crap! No...cow pies, cowplop, dung, fertilizer, guano, manure, meadow muffin, night soil, ordure, poop!

I guess Muffins are like many things...relative. I'm exaggerating, they were not that bad, but in comparison they were awful...I was so disgusted with their lack of "Famous Dave'sishness" that I chucked them in the waste bin.

hmpf.

Working the Before and in Progress

2009-09-26T18:38:00.000-07:00

After moving in with the boyfriend, a wonderful guy, but a true "guy" in every sense. We're talking football, white walls, huge TV, leather sofas, meat and potatoes, and a general lack of interest in decor. I guess thank goodness is in order otherwise he would not be said boyfriend of mine rather boyfriend to Steve or Paul...but I digress.

Boyfriend purchased a house that was home to a 90 year old woman. Boyfriend was just fine with the 90 year old woman's curtains. Since my mother is Madame Sews A lot, it would stand to reason that I was not OK with the 90 year old woman's window treatments. With a little help from mama (free fabric and mad sewing skills) and some inspiration from Erika at Urban Grace the room is slowly starting to look like something. Hopefully something nice. I think I've settled on a paint color and will update you with photos accordingly.

NOTE: (If you look at the inspiration photo you will see the window appears to be in a fancy shmancy home. My window is not so fancy and once again mom er Madame Sews A Lot has a great solution for my lack of fancy window trim. Eventually I will install a shelf over the window moulding that will frame the top and house some of my dishes that are rarely used.)

Thanks mom!

Before (YIKES!)

RIP Patrick...oh and trust me, this clip is better with subtitles

2009-09-15T09:52:00.000-07:00

Garden Smack Down 09 Round-up

2009-09-08T17:06:00.000-07:00

Round this up NSGH .... My plate says it all!!!

Tomatoes...............check

Basil........................check

Green beans...........check

The pasta dish, courtesy of Martha Stewart is very yummy....and of course a simple caprese salad.

Truth be told, I have 4 huge broccoli plants and nothing but a bunch of teeth marks from rabbits and beetles...not even one floret. I have to much basil, way to many tomatoes (I'll be taking a them into work tomorrow), I have a few runt corn cobs and runt cantaloupe. All in all if I had to rely on my garden for food I'd eat nothing but basil, tomatoes, and green beans.

I think I've learned some things and have some ideas for next summers garden. I certainly will be planting more herbs and will definitely be planting some of those awesome gourds (I think you carved that star in the gourd) from the Not So Glamours Housewife's garden...Kudos and beans and disease to you!

How Many Pillows Are Too Many Pillows...

2009-09-05T10:40:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I fear I may turn into a pillow freak and end up like this...

Thank you IKEA for your uber cheep "Alvine Flora Cushion"!

It's State Fair Season Once Again!

2009-09-03T21:52:00.000-07:00

The one time of year you can find Martha Stewart domestic divas and the leader of Hells Angels all congregating in the same place. I saw award winning sugar cookies, I saw world class horses, I saw a woman with a tattoo of a devils tail creeping out of her shorts. (I don't think we need to examine where it started.)

Here is a little photo essay for you, and my many apologies about devil woman, I swear it was as if my camera said "Do it...they will never believe you if you don't...DO IT"!

First we have tobacco...it is Kentucky folks. I only wish someone would grow some Tomaco.
Farmall, not a John Deere but still a sweet ride.

I'll take one of each please!

Left thigh...that's all I'm saying...

I always hated balloon animals, imagine my abhorrence for a balloon farm.

Just when I thought it couldn't get any better than this blue ribbon winner...
it does...................oh MJ.

And now for what is sure to be my favorite part of the Kentucky State Fair....the ugly lamp contest!

This last photo doesn't really seem like a typical state fair pic, but this little dragon fly was hanging around the lilly pond at the Fair Grounds. I think I may enter him next year in the photography exhibition...not because I will win, but because it cost us freaking $22.00 just to get in! If you are an exhibitor you get in free.

The Hot Brown

2009-08-20T05:15:00.000-07:00

I'm sure Gordon Ramsey would go nuts over this (and not in the good way) but here is one amazing home version of the famous Hot Brown. Admittedly it looks kinda gross, but trust me when I say it tastes awesome!

Hot Brown Ingredients

White Bread

Turkey

salt

cracked black pepper

Lawry's season salt

butter

chicken stock

Alfredo sauce

cheddar cheese

turkey bacon

tomato's

iceberg lettuce (optional)

First make the bread. I used Julia Child's White Bread recipe. Excellent bread, and not to sweet.

Second cook a small boneless turkey breast in the crock pot. I start it around noon for that evenings dinner. Rub a few pats of butter on the skin, kosher salt, cracked black pepper, and a generous sprinkling of Lawry's seasoning. Cover with two cups of chicken stock and let her cook.

Once you are ready to assemble slice your bread, put a layer of turkey then top with Classico's 4 cheese Alfredo, a bit of shredded sharp cheddar cheese, and crumbled turkey bacon, and diced or sliced tomato's. I also like to eat this with ice cold chopped iceberg lettuce on the side. I don't think it's part of the Hot Brown tradition, but I like the crunch and I need something green on my plate.

I didn't say it was healthy I sad it was good. ;-)

Julie & Julia

2009-08-14T05:20:00.000-07:00

Go see this movie if you are in any way a fan of Julia Child, (or a fan of people living their lives to the fullest and without fear) Something I have yet to master, but hopefully will take a lesson from. I never realized that Julia Child was so fearless, but really when you think about it the woman was 6'2 and lets face it did not have the most wonderful voice in the world. I could never in a million years imagine going to live in France and having the nerve to enroll in Le Cordon Bleu. I wish I had that sort of fearlessness! I'm definitely going to order Julia's autobiography, I should probably try one of her cookbooks as well, but I think I'll start with the autobiography as I'm really not to interested in learning how to make headcheese or killing lobsters. I like my food without faces. (I'd never make it at Le Cordon Blue).

Anyone up for a Sunday drive?

2009-08-02T04:38:00.000-07:00

The Rolling Stones, Fake Blood, & Obscene Gestures

2009-07-29T15:50:00.000-07:00

I've been an art consultant for a little over 10 years. The art market is in such a sad state right now. People don't really buy $10,000 paintings when they are worried about their 401k. I read this disturbing article in USA Today about all the galleries that are closing. I unfortunately know from first hand experience how hard it is to sell art and keep a business afloat. I've gone from selling original works of art to working in a frame shop. Not a high end frame shop, but the type of place grandma takes her cross stitch and puts a cheep metal frame on it. Not that there is anything wrong with that, I'm more than happy to even be employed and feel lucky that I have a steady paycheck. It was anything but steady when I was pushing "fine art". I guess my point with this is, just when I think the glamorous life has passed me by and I'm doomed to stretching aunt Flo's sampler (I don't know why Flo...I should have went with Betty, aunt Flo probably runs a bunny ranch or something) someone brings this guitar in to frame...it's got autographs from The Stones! We also did one that was autographed by Led Zeppelin, and one by Paul McCartney.

Again, I'm not complaining about my job...anything but...I work with a bunch of boys (they are all over 30, but I've given you photographic proof they are boys)...and they are a lot of fun!

This is saw boy (protecting the names of the inocent). He works hard and sometimes eats fried fish for lunch...then complains about how sick he was for days afterword.

This is my manager "pointing" to the Led Zeppelin guitar we framed.

A lump in my throat...

2009-07-27T19:34:00.000-07:00

After a very long few years of cancer, we put my cat Trina down today. For any of you who have had to put a pet down you know it's an incredibly difficult thing to do. There is something so wrong about it. One thinks about the will to survive and wishing you could read their minds so that they could tell you how they feel and what to do. I knew this day was coming, but even this morning she was still taking swipes at the dog (a source of entertainment for her) and jumped on my lap for a good neck scratch. I know she had to be in pain, Sunday night one of her tumors had a slight rupture and I knew it was only going to get worse. She had been through two surgeries, the cancer had spread and I suppose I could have kept taking her in for surgeries, but to what outcome? More suffering for something she could never recover from. I know I did the right thing, I know she has not been feeling well, but it's still a sick feeling to drive her to the animal hospital. You just wonder what they think, if they know.

I don't know what happens after you die, but part of me thinks maybe she is with her original owner now. She spent the first 3 years of her life with an elderly lady who passed away before she came to live with me.

I hope this is where she is and they are happy to see one another.

Photos from home...

2009-07-25T05:03:00.000-07:00

Even though I live in Kentucky now I suspect I will always have some feeling of home being where my parents are. Even though I never lived in the house they currently live in, things from childhood are all around. A tablecloth my mom embroidered, books on the shelves I've seen my entire life, and the worn green quilt my great grandmother gave my mom that she would let my sister and I cuddle up in when we weren't feeling well.

And of course there are the flowers....

Where to start...

2009-07-24T04:29:00.000-07:00

I thought Jesus loved all the children of the world? This sort of thing drives me insane. It's right up there with Christian breath mints....I'm not making this up folks...they are called "Testamints".

Dasher knew deep down Santa hated him...

2009-07-14T14:51:00.000-07:00

Sometimes things reveal themselves. I was not even looking at the Santa, in fact I never even noticed him until I loaded the photos. I sometimes take my camera to antique stores as there is usually at least interesting subject matter. Maybe I should pay more attention...in any case, it provided a good laugh.

Lunch Bag

2009-07-09T17:29:00.001-07:00

I've been taking my lunch everyday and was getting sick of shoving my sandwich in my purse. I looked for a new "lunch bag" but for some reason none really appealed to me. I guess I'm not a hot pink and purple polka dot fabric type of girl. I picked up a 3 dollar canvas bag at the local craft store and went to town with a little embroidery.

I love little projects like this that don't take too long and you can do them while watching TV. I also found a rubber made reusable water bottle lime with a green top that is the same color as my green written "lunch bag"...so cute!

...and then there were none

2009-06-24T03:37:00.000-07:00

Homemade eclairs....they did last 2 days.

Big Book for Small Toilet

2009-06-23T05:39:00.000-07:00

Sooooo I walked into the half bath and this puppy was sitting on the sink. I've never been a "bathroom reader". Mostly because unless I'm sick I don't spend enough time on the "throne".

But if I were going to become a bathroom reader I think it would be more magazines instead of giant novels. Probably not cooking magazines but something more like People Magazine (sort of appropriate don't you think).

The book hasn't left the bathroom in a week. I hope the boy is not getting very far.

Weekend Breakfast and Garden Smackdown

2009-06-21T04:47:00.001-07:00

So far this weekend has been great, very relaxing. I attribute that to starting off Saturday right with the BEST french toast on the plant. Next time you decide to make french toast forget about using whatever bread you use and go for croissants. You wont be sorry, they are amazing. Just slice the croissant like you would for a sandwich. I just beat one egg and add about a cup of skim milk, a few shakes of cinnamon. Get a nice hot buttered pan ready, dip your croissant on each side and cook till golden brown. So good.

Here are the promised photos for Garden Smackdown...I almost hate posting them because I went out this morning and there are actual vegetables growing. I took the photos last week and since then the peas and green beans that are about 2 inch long!

Tomato Plants

Peas

Green Beans

Basil Broccoli

I've also got corn, melon, and cucumbers, but they are still pretty small and uninteresting.

Have a great weekend!

I Want it Now Daddy!!!!

2009-06-18T06:27:00.000-07:00

Every day while on my way to work I pass this house. I crank my neck off in an effort to see as much of it as possible. I should probably be watching the road, but it calls to me...

"Hey Shelly, look at me, you know you want me, look at my porch, you wish you had boxwood's in your yard like mine. Check out my grass...it's green. Jealous much? My windows are huge too. You know you want me. "

I guess I really am attracted to cocky jerks. And really, we have nothing in common. ( Except we both have a dead limb hanging from the tree in our front yard.)

Jerk.

Summer Strawberries & Quilts on Clothes Lines

2009-06-08T16:51:00.000-07:00

I have a love hate relationship with summer. The hate is the muggy humidity...heat I can handle it's the danged old humidity. I live in Kentucky now, I figure it's OK to say danged. On the other hand, there is being able to line dry laundry (like the beautiful quilt my mom made me). There is watching the vegetables in the garden grow. My tomato's are getting big (I'll update you soon on garden smack down). Then there are strawberries. Strawberries, lovely strawberries. The ultimate food. Strawberry pie, strawberry jam, strawberry juice, strawberry ice cream, strawberries with cereal, on french toast, with vanilla pudding or just sliced up on pb&j (strawberry jam of course...try it, it's great...also sprinkle some cashews on the peanut butter!). Sometimes I buy them out of season and doctor them or put them in a smoothie and those are OK, but nothing, NOTHING, can compare to in season fresh strawberries. I've started with one plant and tomorrow it's going to go in the ground. It took me awhile to figure out where to place her since I fully intend to plant more. Trying to figure out where the strawberry patch would be best since we have a lot of shade so I think it's gong to eventually border the vegetable garden (once I get a picket fence around it) but one thing at a time.

One thing at a time.

Louisville Watertower

2009-06-05T06:01:00.000-07:00

Last weekend my parents came down and we went to lunch at King Fish on the river. It was fine, not the best seafood ever, but of course we lived in Florida when I was a kid so it's hard to compare. I'd say it was something like Dead Mobster. (You should click on that link...nice sizzle sounds.) Right next door to the restaurant is the Louisville Water Tower, the oldest ornamental water tower in the world, even older than Chicago's water tower.

It's nice to have something so pretty to keep the cholera and typhoid away.

Houses, mushrooms and weeds

2009-05-14T03:29:00.000-07:00

That title sounds like I'm going to blog about something other than the garden. But since I have no knowledge of "shrooms" and "weed"... it's the garden ( I guess I've lived a sheltered life). I also wanted to show you this house. I found a little neighborhood around the corner from us that has at least 3 of my dream homes. Here is one of them. It just oozes Tudor charm. Do you think people mind that some strange girl is taking photos of their house and posting them on line?

Next is the HUGE mushroom growing off the back of one our trees. I'm pretty sure it's not a good thing. The back of the tree looks like it's dieing and it's a real shame because it's a huge tree.

Last is a photo of some strange Kentucky bush that I have no idea what it would be. Whenever I see something that I don't know what it is I say it's some strange Kentucky thing. Is it a weed? Who knows, but it's sort of pretty.

2009-05-13T03:20:00.000-07:00

Hmmm...The second house from the left...it looks eerie. It looks like it's in a time warp and was left behind by the others. When I loaded my photos from a day out around town this one really struck me as strange, I didn't notice it when we were driving, I was just snapping shot's trying to learn how to use the action setting on the new camera. Normally I really like painted brick, but I think it's time for curb appeal to make a visit to this block.

Could I be a handywoman?

2009-05-06T07:46:00.001-07:00

I was fortunate enough in my last house to have many great bookshelves. At the new place we have some great built in cupboards, but not a book shelf in sight. I've been seriously toying with the idea of building one myself that would cover the entire back wall of the dining room. We don't have a fireplace, so I was thinking one that would be about mantel height would be nice. We could prop artwork or whatever on the top of it and it wouldn't feel to high, the dining room is not huge, but there is certainly enough room to accommodate it. I'm afraid if I go with a shelf all the way to the ceiling it would overwhelm the space. Anyway we went to Home Depot the other day and looked at wood. Home Depot will cut your wood for you and I'm pretty sure I could assemble it myself. Oh, and I want to paint it the same color as the rest of the woodwork. All this sounds good the theory and I certainly would love to free up this cupboard in the bedroom that is housing some of my books. We'll see...maybe it's harder than I think, but I'll keep you posted if I decide this is something I can do.

Look, all I can say is it's a sickness...

2009-05-05T15:38:00.000-07:00

I know I said I would chill out on the flower photos, but I can't ok. I just can't do it. They are right there and it's spring and look at it...JUST LOOK AT IT!

Grass, weed, and hippy salad

2009-04-30T06:25:00.001-07:00

First off here is my first strawberry plant for Garden SMACKDOWN!

Second...

I must be crazy, but I got up at 5:45 this morning (that's when the boy gets up) and made us some yummy drop doughnut (these rock the hisouse yo!). Then after that I went out and mowed the lawn. Don't worry, it's one of those eco push mowers that makes next to no noise. It was great! The boy did the first mowing two weeks ago, this was the second one of the season. Who would have ever thunk I secretly was wanting to give the new mower a try. (Don't tell!) It looked so easy. I NEVER mow the law because all the debree the gas mower kicked up made me sick, literally sick for two weeks. I don't know if it just shot pollen up my nose or what but I said I would never mow the lawn again after two weeks of not being able to breath! All I can say is I highly recommend one these mowers if you have nice grass. We have patches of nice grass...the front yard is pretty good, but the back has some issues...crab grass, dandelions, mud, a cranberry bog in the back. Not a real cranberry bog, but I'm pretty sure there is enough flooding in the back that we could give Ocean Spray a run for their money. Anyway, the good grass looks great, the crabgrass "legs" will not cut, so there area these long chunks here and there, and I think there are enough dandelions in the back that I could have a large salad for lunch. In any case, hope you enjoy the photos of my fresh cut yard...it started raining exactly when I turned the hose off after cleaning the mower...talk about timing...but it makes for pretty picture.

Good Soap and Babies

2009-04-28T05:22:00.000-07:00

Today my good friend Amy should be having or have had her baby girl Audrey. I'm so excited for her that I could barely sleep last night! I don't envy her as that labor thing scares the jebus out of me, but I can't wait to see her little squirt!

On another note...this soap smells amazing and you should go out and buy it! They sell it at whole foods and at world market. Seriously it's so awesome and I know there are a few fellow weirdos out there that love soap smell in an unnatural way. In a way that makes you want to take a bath just so you can whiff this stuff. It's a sickness.

I will chill out on the flowers soon...

2009-04-27T07:35:00.000-07:00

OK so I know I'm taking to many flower shots, but I'll get over it soon. I'm still trying to learn how the camera works. So on to other topics. Today is not a good day. I'm pretty much hating my job right now. I took a job as an interior decorator for a store here in Louisville. That seems like it would be great right? WRONG. Here is the thing....it's MATH MATH MATH MATH and then ...there is some more MATH. People think decorating is all about putting things together, and creating an environment for people. Yes it is and that is what the surface of the job is, but what you don't see is all the calculating and formulas and BS that goes into it. I HATE IT. I was never good at math in school and I still stink at it. It's making me wish I had a job putting pepperoni on pizzas instead. A brainless job where I wouldn't be feeling stressed out about all this freaking math! When I come out of the "hole/office" I can see that my face is red when I look in the mirror. It's red because the stress of math is making my blood pressure go up. I know this sounds ridiculous, but the formulas for fabrication when it comes to window treatments are extremely complicated...no joke, I think it's easier to pass the bar. It takes all the fun out of the job and I truly hate it. I keep thinking maybe if I just hang in there it will get better but the plain truth is (and this is hard to face because the job pays well) I just don't think I can spend much longer calculating fabrication without loosing my mind.

Sometimes I hate that *B* who thought women should have the right to work, I just want to stay home, bake pies and walk around barefoot. Oh yeah and play with my camera. Is that having your pie and eating it too? How can I make money doing that? Anyone want to buy a pie and a picture of the pie? No? Crap. I guess it's back to formulas, fabric, and frustration.

Weeds

2009-04-23T15:03:00.000-07:00

Is it just me or does MY NEW CAMERA make even the weeds look pretty! Ok maybe it's not the camera but the fact that this weed actually is sweet. Now if I can only figure out how to increase the image size on this silly blog. You can click on it and see it in a large format. OK I'm off to go learn new things about my NEW CAMERA!

Kitty Is Home in Kentucky & I HAVE A NEW CAMERA!!!!

2009-04-22T17:58:00.001-07:00

I am so excited to report I finally have a new camera! Being in a new city there are about a billion and one things I want to take photos of so stay tuned!

Also, the kitty is now with me in Kentucky. She adjusted perfectly and is loving it. Phoebe is not so much...she had an entire month of attention all to herself and now the poor baby has to share time with the cat.

I think I detect a smirk.

Where is my Camera!!!!

2009-03-28T08:43:00.000-07:00

Ugh...I can't find my camera. Of course I'm still in a sea of boxes and god forbid I write what is in the box on the outside. What I find most amusing is that most of my boxes came from my sister so they were "pre-labeled" Such as "Toys" or "Bed Set". That girl is just to organized...I aspire to be like her. My boxes have cook books and wine glasses shoved in the same box. I know go ahead and yell at me, but everything survived...so far. OK well I did loose my trifle dish...damn. It was a thrift store $3 find too.

Well, it feels strange to post with no photos, so once I find the missing camera and charge her up you will soon see photos of "My New Kentucky Home".

Feeling like a Traitor...

2009-03-18T20:10:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow is my last official day still in the Hoosier state. I’m excited about moving, but it’s certainly bittersweet. This is my cat, Trina. The last few years with her have been tough. She has cancer and has been through two surgeries. She is a super resilient little thing. As of October it has been a year that the vet told me she would live only about 2 more weeks. Her tumor came back with a vengeance just 2 weeks after her second surgery. I had prepared myself and resigned to the fact that she would have to be put down. The vet told me when it seemed like her days were getting bad just to bring her in and they would take care of her…ie, THE SHOT.

As fate would have it, she never seemed to act any different. She is much skinnier than she was, even though she still eats like a pig. Apparently the type of tumor she has “feeds” and they eat the same but loose weight. She still chases the dog and for the most part is her usual self. The last month or so I have noticed her sleeping more and I really thought I would end up putting her down before my move. But, I just don’t think she is ready to go yet. I’m so torn up about leaving her, but I know the move would be hard for her, not to mention my boyfriend is allergic (and we will be living together) and my parents have offered to take care of her for me. She knows them, and she really likes my dad…but still it breaks my heart and I can’t stop crying about it. It’s turns my stomach the thought of saying goodbye to her, mostly because I know she won’t be here much longer, but also that I’m leaving her when I feel like I should be here for her. So there you have it, I’m a huge traitor. I know there are much worse things in the world, but it still feels crappy.

Flowers with Faces

2009-03-17T08:45:00.000-07:00

I'm not really sure if Gerber Daisy's are considered to be part of the family of "flowers with faces". I probably could google it or something, but I really don't care. I think if they aren't they should be because they have loads of personality!

Only 4 more days...

2009-03-16T19:22:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it's almost here, but in four short days I will be saying goodbye to Indianapolis. Indy has it's charms, but I have to say I'll be glad to start fresh in Kentucky! It's really perfect...I'm only an hour and a half away from my family, but I will be just far enough that everything is new and interesting. I've lived in other states and one of the things I love about arriving in a new town are the little things. Finding the grocery store, (there is a Whole Foods in my new neighborhood!!!!) finding the post office, finding your new favorite restaurants. Just getting use to your new surroundings. I'm also looking forward to having more of a small town feel. Unfortunately the crime rate in Indy seems to be skyrocketing and frankly I'm looking forward to not hearing about murders on the news everyday! Today's news was some SOB who murdered a baby by beating her to death because she "disrespected him". How does an 18 month old baby disrespect you!!!!

Sorry...not the ending I was looking for and I'm sure Kentucky has it's fair share of nut jobs, but in the words of her majesty Martha....I think this is going to be "a good thing".

Here of some photos of Indy I've taken over the last few years, just so you know that aside from the murder rate it really is a pretty city!

Garden Smackdown / Random Thoughts

2009-03-15T20:10:00.000-07:00

Check it out...the Not so Glamorous Housewife has made a visual of our "Garden Smackdown" plan. Let me tell you good people, she is trying to play on your sympathies by stressing the fact that she has kids and a dog that are probably going to mess up her garden. I'm hear to tell you don't feel sorry for her, her children are trained in seed planting and her dog knows how to work the garden hose! I know! So PU-LEASE NSGHW. We don't feel sorry for you at all!

Now for the random thoughts. Remember Wham, of course you do. Who could forget...well who could forget George Michael anyway. But we did sort of forget Andrew Ridgeley. Ever wonder what happened to him? I did...and I googled.

That's him, Andrew Ridgeley/Osama Bin Laden.
Sweet bacon grease Wham was tan! And why did it never enter my mind that George Michael was gay? Did I just not notice he wore a lot of shorty shorts, did I not notice that shirt is fish net? So many questions so little time.

Garden Smackdown/Moving to Kentucky

2009-03-14T20:37:00.001-07:00

Challenge accepted…OH IT’S ON!

What what…awwwwyeah it’s on!!!!! Garden Smackdown is on! You betta bring it cause I gatts mad garden skillz yo! Yeah yeah, all the butta flies flock to my garden yo!

What’s that…awww yeah it’s some garden delight on the plate….you gonna bring that??? Whach you say?

This garden bunny gonna smoke you!

Oh and btw I’m moving to the bluegrass state….darn, that means a new zone I have to read up on.

Jibber Jabber: Autumn

2008-10-24T08:01:00.000-07:00

For some reason I can't get into the Fall mood. I don't know if it's being consumed with the election (can't wait till it's over) or just life in general. Maybe part of it is that my favorite tree is not turning it's usual bright red. It's just looking sort of brown and dead. Maybe it's a general sense of my life being in limbo at the moment. I'm sort of job hunting, I'm sort of thinking about starting a business, I'm sort of thinking about moving to another state, I'm sort of thinking about letting my hair go back to it's natural color, which I'm not really sure what that is but most likely a mouse brown that I will hate if I actually do it. I know the last one is not so pressing, but I have a thing about my hair.

This was my porch last year, I've not even bought a pumpkin this year. I always at least buy a pumpkin and some mums. I do have some pumpkin in my freezer from last year and was considering using it for pumpkin cinnamon rolls. But I'm not sure if it's to old. Everyone says it should be fine...but I don't know, it's from the pumpkin I used for last years Thanksgiving pie.

Hmmmm.

Style: Pink Houses?

2008-10-08T13:01:00.000-07:00

Generally when I think of Pink Houses it conjures up thoughts of John Mellencamp, you know, the song 'Pink Houses'. Well, I guess when that song was a hit he was still John Cougar Mellencamp. Whatever. My point is the thought of a pink house does not really paint the most attractive picture. Like the song says "interstate runnin through his front yard" and something about his woman in the kitchen "cleaning up the evening slop". So I would like to take this opportunity to thank John Cougar for wrecking any thoughts that a pink house could be anything other than uber tacky. I'd also like to take this opportunity to thank the owners of this house in Madison Indiana....for proving the Cougars vision sucks and a pink house can look lovely.

Jibber Jabber: Kentucky Fence

2008-10-07T12:15:00.000-07:00

Well, I did finally get a little mini break this last weekend. I went down to Kentucky for a fun filled weekend of arts. My "friend" and I went to a play at the Louisville Actors Theater...Pride and Prejudice. This is one of my all time favorite stories....granted it all started with a crush on Collin Firth as Mr. Darcy in the BBC version, and yes I have partaken in "Firth Fridays" with a few girlfriends once they too were exposed to the magic that is Mr. Darcy! The play was really well done, even though I felt the girl playing Elizabeth was a little too loud. Hmmm..lets see we also went to an art festival Sunday in the beautiful historic Belgravia neighborhood....I'm jealous of anyone fortunate enough to reside in the neighborhood.

I don't know what it is about Kentucky, but there is something that almost instantly relaxes me. Maybe it's the slower pace, the friendly people, the horse stuff EVERYWHERE or maybe it's seeing these neat orderly fences planted about. I unfortunately forgot to take my camera with me this time, but the above photo was taken in Lexington last year. Looks peaceful does it not!

Jibber Jabber: Itch

2008-09-25T07:21:00.000-07:00

I'm itching to go on a vacation....this was my last "vacation". My good friend Amy went to North Carolina with me to visit my sister and her family. I know visiting family is not really a vacation, but hanging out with my sister is better than just about any vacation I can think of. Amy and I did get to go to The Biltmore Estate on the way home. If you have never gone you must!

Style: Fountain Square

2008-09-17T08:58:00.000-07:00

Here is a picture I took of the Fountain Diner after eating dinner next door at the Shelby Street Cafe (my favorite place in the city). Indianapolis has been working on the "Fountain Square" neighborhood, restoring things, redoing the street lights and sidewalks. It's sort of an artsy part of town. It's a special part of town.

Interior of Diner

The fountain in "Fountain Square"

There are great neon signs everywhere.

Jibber Jabber: Thanks a lot Ike

2008-09-16T11:31:00.000-07:00

I think sometimes when we watch natural disasters on TV we are desensitized to what is actually happening. I do have a hard time understanding why people who could leave stay, but Sunday when the remnants of Ike made his way through the Midwest there was one point when I went outside and a slight sense of fear came over me me. These giant old trees in my yard were bending so far that my brief moment outside was enough to send me running inside for fear of being hit by a flying tree or large branch. When I went to close the screen door I actually had to pull it shut with both hands. I went upstairs to get a better look at the tree tops...that's when I heard the crack and knew immediately what it was, I ran to the window on the third floor (the one you see at the top of the house) and watched this tree fall in what seemed like slow motion. I waited for the sound of it breaking a window but miraculously it fell on an angle and missed the house by a mere 2 inches.

I can't imagine the fear of facing the brunt of that storm on the coast.

Style: Americana meets Modern?

2008-09-12T07:57:00.000-07:00

This is a photo of one of my favorite homes in Indianapolis, it's in a historic district downtown. I love the yellow paint, the panes in the windows, the picket fence, and the wonderful garden. It's full of charm and feels completely American. This is the type of house I dream of. One where it's not to big, the trees are tall, and the garden is green.

But, there is this other part of me that wants clean line, modern, no frills, no fuss. Is there a good way to incorporate Windsor Chairs and Swedish Modern? I don't know, I keep looking.

It's raining out today, it's humid. I've been sick for a week now and this morning when I woke I felt great, no cough, no runny nose, just a slight scratch to the throat. I had to go outside to let Phoebe out an all hell broke loose. It's as if the humid air laughed in my face and said, forget about feeling better, here is your cough and runny nose back. Stupid girl, you should have went to the doctor. I hate when the weather mocks me.

Photo: Mushroom

2008-09-11T11:22:00.000-07:00

This was growing in the back yard earlier this summer...it was huge, maybe the size of a soccer ball. Part of me wanted to sautee it in a pan with some butter and garlic. Part of me did not want to make a trip to the Emergency Room.

Jibber Jabber: Summers End

2008-09-10T07:27:00.000-07:00

I woke up very early (4:00am) to my little 7lb dog, Phoebe, staring at me wanting to go outside. She failed to do her "business" at the regular scheduled time, just before bed. Since it was 4am and most of the world is still asleep at that hour I figured it would be fine to run outside in my nightie. Huge mistake. We trek down the two flights of stairs across the parking lot over to the grass and nearly froze. I stood there shivering, teeth chattering waiting for Phoebe to do her thing. The cold air was shouting loudly that end of summer is near.

The official sign for me is when the Ice Cream stand around the corner from me closes up for the winter. This is a photo of their sign.

Jibber Jabber: Grandparents

2008-09-09T09:01:00.000-07:00

I took this photo in my grandparents back yard, my grandfather past away about 5 years ago and two weeks ago today my grandmother was diagnosed with lung cancer. She died early Friday morning at the age of 77. She had been a smoker since she was 17. Even after my grandfather quit back in the 80's he could never get her to stop. She was a stubborn woman and I often wonder if she kept smoking just because he didn't want her too. She would say that is ridiculous, but something tells me there is a little bit of truth in it.

I will miss their back yard, we often joked it was like snow white, it was not unusual to see yellow finches, cardinals, robins, doves, hummingbirds, bluebirds, and even a mallard couple that returned every year in the yard all at the same time. If you sat there long enough and quiet enough that is. My grandfather use to say there were Gorillas in the trees behind the house, he'd start laughing and say there was just one...it was a "Gorilla in the Mist". He also kept a pony in the attic (I believed this till I was about 7 years old).

I'm going to miss their infectious laughing, their yelling while playing cards, my grandmother flipping off my grandfather with her index finger (all the while smiling). I'll miss my grandfather talking about playing full court basketball when he was young, and I'll miss my grandmothers roast beef sandwiches and macaroni and cheese. She was never more than 100 lbs and somehow made entire meals consisting of nothing but starchy foods.

Today I feel bitter that they are gone and these are now only memories.

Style: Antique Sewing Machines

2008-08-29T10:34:00.001-07:00

Every year I take a road trip to Madison Indiana for the Chautauqua Festival of Art. We usually have time to make a few stops in town and brows through the wonderful shops. These sewing machines all pushed together with the afternoon sunlight shining in were a lovely setting. If you happen to be in the region this years Chautauqua will be on September 27-28. I highly recommend it!

Style: Crane Scissors

2008-08-28T20:30:00.000-07:00

I snapped this shot while at my moms house, she was working on some embroidery and her tiny crane scissors were begging to be photographed. I didn't have my digital so I swiped her old 35mm Canon. I love that camera unfortunately it requires film. But, there is something to say for the art of and loss of film.

Home: Feeling Fall and a Watercolor

2008-08-28T08:13:00.000-07:00

I don't know what it is, but I must be ready for fall....
For some reason I don't get very far into summer before I start craving fall. There is nothing like having the windows open and letting the crisp air blow in. The smell of the leaves and earth getting ready for winter. I crave sweaters, hot tea, warm socks, and the smells of pumpkin spice.

This is a little watercolor I did in an illustration style last winter. I ran across it in my photo files and it felt right today.

Garden: Wings

2008-08-27T08:11:00.000-07:00

Is it me or does this painted lady moth have a beak? Yeah, that's what I thought. I've found that photographing butterflies and moths is pretty simple. At first they're a bit skittish, but soon they realize that you don't have a stash of pins in your pocket for a grade school science project. Once they calm down they are all to happy to pose for a portrait. This moth was a downright ham, but the Appalachian Tiger Swallowtail ( that's the yellow one...and yes I looked it up) had a severe case of OCD. It was busy chowing down and would not stop flapping it wings.

Nothing worse than a neurotic butterfly!

"Painted Lady"

"Appalachian Tiger Swallowtail "

"Black Swallowtail"

"Monarch"

"I have no idea"

"Red Admiral"

The same "Red Amdiral"

If you would like butterflies and moths to visit, plant lots of flowers, they love Zinas and Flox!

Style: The Sting-Ray

2008-08-26T13:57:00.000-07:00

There is no doubt that the Schwinn Sting-Ray is thee most stylish bike ever created.

Well, at least for something from the 70s.