Wednesday, June 30, 2010

For My Parents


Today my parents celebrate 37 years of marriage.
I have fond memories of the two of them singing the lyrics above from the Beatles song "I Will." Mom sang the melody and dad took harmony. It was the nicest thing a kid could hear.

I love you Mom and Dad.
Happy Anniversary.

(image here)

Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Ready to Rest

(photo here)
Baseball game attended.
Flowers arranged.
Tissue poms hung
Tasty rehearsal dinner under the apple tree.
Yummy carrot cake.
Wedding hair pieces made.
Rushed around.
Tweaked flowers.
Knot was tied.
Couple looked so happy.
Danced and dined.
Packed it all up.
Enjoyed bbq.
Wached gift opening.
Savored Aunt Wilma's chocolate chip cookies.
Played with nephews.
Ran final errands.
Said farewells.
Home again. Home again.
Ready for bed.
(pictures to follow)


Wednesday, June 23, 2010

I Just Had To...


I really should be either finishing up my packing or fast asleep, but I just checked my email to find that a lovely Etsy seller included my Smokey Gray Roses headband in her treasury!
It's always nice when someone hand-picks an item from one's shop to for a treasury.
It made my evening and I had to share.
That's all!

p.s. I will try my best to blog a little here and there amidst all the wedding bliss!

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Wedding Bells are Gonna Ring


Tomorrow we hit the road for home 'cause the cute kids in the picture above are gettin' married on Sunday!
That's my sister-in-law and her honey. Great photo huh?
Anyway. I have the pleasure of providing the flowers and decoration for this happy day so today I'm packing up vases and wire and ribbon and making lists and doing laundry.

Goin to the chapel and we're gonna get married... Goin to the chapel and we're gonna get maaaarried...

Monday, June 21, 2010

Clean, Fresh and Bright.


Take a peek at these lovely photos of the home of Karly Depew, owner of a chic invitation design company called Oscar & Emma. Textures and colors are layed in such a way that the home feels cozy and interesting while still appearing clean and soothing.



The neutral palette is such a nice backdrop for the little pops of coral...



I can imagine enjoying a simple dinner and a glass of wine with friends at this table. Perhaps with some mellow Coltrane playing in the background...



The cheerful scheme of this bathroom would be a nice greeting in the morning.
I love the Orla Kiely wallpaper.

(images via here)


Friday, June 18, 2010

My (Romanticized) Weekend in Pictures


Friday Morning


Saturday Morning


Saturday Afternoon


Sunday Afternoon

(images: here, here, here and here)

Thursday, June 17, 2010

You'll Feel Pretty, Oh So Pretty

My sister-in-law is getting married in only ten little days and so I've been thinking about what to pack for the trip home, which of course includes accessories. As we all know, the right accessories can make all the differenence and I'm certain any one of these beauties from Bazaar Latino would add just the right dose of  romantic glamour when a girl needs to feel pretty. Which piece makes you swoon?
(this is actually a bracelet!)









Wednesday, June 16, 2010

Doughnut Saturday


First, I'm so happy to have our wireless back up and running! Phew. That was a close shave. I'm sort of sad to say that I don't do well without my wireless, so I'm glad that's over.

So! I actually did what I said I was going to do in Friday's blog post and on Saturday, which was a rainy, cold day in my neck of the woods, I made gluten-free doughnuts. Mmm. Mmm. After a few minutes of deep frying, they were all golden and gorgeous and crispy. Then I either rolled them in cinnamon and sugar or powdered sugar or an almond glaze. Oh baby.


The dough.
(I used an icing tip to cut out the hole in the center because I didn't have a cutter that smalll)


Into the fryer they go ...


All warm and golden waiting to be glazed ...


I added a splash of almond extract to the glaze and of course there was a bowl of cinnamon and sugar ...


The glorious final product which was perfect on a rainy Saturday with a hot mug of french roast.

I used a gluten-free flour blend as this recipe calls for it, but I'm sure one could just use regular flour and still get a delicious result.

Gluten-Free Cake Doughnuts, Adapted from Cooking Gluten-Free by Karen Robertson
Ingredients:

1 egg, lightly beaten

1/2 C milk

1/2 C sugar

2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1/2 tsp salt

1 TBL butter, melted

1 3/4-2 C Jeanne's Gluten-Free All-Purpose Flour Mix (depends on humidity--I use 1 3/4 C consistently)
(I used Bob's Redmill All Purpose Gluten-free flour + 1 tsp. xanthum gum)

Vegetable oil for frying (I use Rice Bran oil) ( I couldn't find rice bran oil so I used expeller pressed safflower oil instead)

Confectioners sugar, granulated sugar, or cinnamon mixed w/sugar for dusting.
-Mix together egg, milk, sugar, baking powder, nutmeg, salt, and butter in a medium bowl.

-Add flour (you may need incorporate it with your hands at end of mixing).

-Cover and refrigerate for about an hour (to firm up dough).

-Prepare to roll out the doughnuts. I use a Silpat mat to roll out the dough. You can also dust your cutting board with flour and cut out there. (I would use tapioca flour for this--it won't add graininess to the dough). You may need to use a little flour for the biscuit cutters so they don't stick to the dough.

-Roll out the dough to 1/2" thickness (be sure it's not too thin).

-Cut out doughnuts with bigger biscuit cutter and doughnut holes with smaller biscuit cutter. Or you can just use the smaller one and cut out a bunch of doughnut holes (because they are fun and easy to eat!).

-While you are cutting out the doughnuts, have the pan of oil on medium-high heat. I use a small saucepan and I do several batches. This is so I don't have to use a ton of oil. You need to have the oil deep enough that the doughnuts can cook be completely submerged and have oil all the way around them. Oil should be around 360 degrees.

-Once doughnuts are cut out, test the oil. Drop a bit of extra dough into the oil to see if it fries. If it starts frying immediately, then the oil is ready.
-Carefully drop doughnuts and holes into oil. They should drop into the oil and start frying.

-After a couple of minutes, they will rise to the surface.
 
-When they are golden brown, carefully take doughnuts out of oil and drain on a plate covered w/paper towels.
 
-Repeat the frying procedure until all the dough is used.
 
Dust with powerded sugar, cinnamon and sugar or make a simple glaze and drizzle on top. Yum!

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Sending out an S.O.S.


Internet connection.... has been lost.... blogging efforts impeded.... panic setting in ...

I had a lovely (and long) post ready for you today detailing my doughnut-making morning last Saturday. Then of course, in an effort to set up cable so my husband can watch World Cup coverage, the delightful folks from the cable company have managed to bungle up the order so many times that we still have no cable and now our wireless is down also. Currently, we're milking the oh-so-faint connection which could vanish at any moment from an unsuspecting neighbor. We've sent up a flare and help is supposedly on the way...  but we've heard that about nine times in the last week so I'm not holding my breath. Good thing I'm not on a ship that's really sinking...

Friday, June 11, 2010

Treat Yourself

Hello friends. How was the week? Don't you think we should eat doughnuts today? I do. In fact, I'm thinking about taking it a step further and making some. Ealier this week I met a friend at starbucks for coffee and their little pink birthday party doughnuts all stacked on a pretty white plate have been haunting me ever since. I probably could have just had one... or two but I've already consumed enough gluten-full things this week. So! Thanks to the lovely food blog Cannelle et Vanille, I now have a gluten-free doughnut recipe. I will let you know how they turn out. And please, have yourself a doughnut and a very nice weekend.
  

Wednesday, June 9, 2010

Here Comes the Bride




Today I'm working on three custom bridal pieces for an adorable client. I loved her summery color pallette and mod, fun wedding concept and I thought I would share some of the elements of her upcoming celebration with you.











Tuesday, June 8, 2010

A Beard Never Looked So Good



The neighbors have the most gorgeous row of irises whose colors and fragrance are simply divine. Particularly spectacular, are these white and purple bearded irises whose edges look like they have been painted on. I am continually amazed by nature and how it reveals the glory of God...

Monday, June 7, 2010

Free at Last!


Hail the Conquering Graduate!

After three years of working full-time and going to graduate school part-time, my dear husband graduated this past Friday with a masters in international business! Woo Hoo! Isaac, you're such a hard working,  intelligent, disciplened and capable person ( in addition to a bunch of other wonderful qualities). 
Congratulations my dear! Now go find your dream job... but take a nap first.
(I love you)  

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

Eye Candy



One of the prettiest blogs this side of the Rio Grande is Oh Hello Friend. Danni (pictured above in her engagement photos! I die.) is the curator of this tastefully designed  and uber feminine site. Anytime I hop on over, there is always an assortment of things to appreciate. Plus, you can tell that Danni is just a honey. She has such a bright and gracious spirit (so I surmise via email correspondence). Here's where the shameless plug comes in. I thought to myself "if others adore this blog as much as I do, why don't I become a sponsor?" So I did! I spent about one-third if my Memorial Day devising the right banner for her blog and as of today, I'm oh-so-happy to see a link to my shop on Oh Hello Friend.


Tuesday, June 1, 2010

Rise & Shine


In four little days my husband will graduate with his master's degree and I AM STOKED to say the least. The ambitious and industrious man has been working full-time and going to school part-time for three years, so heaven knows we're gonna celebrate this weekend!

 In addition to prepping for the big day, we have lots of family coming out to help us celebrate. On Saturday, we will enjoy brunch together and so I've been thinking about what yummy things I should make. I've got a tasty egg, spinach and parmesan casserole on the menu along with rosemary potatoes and a berry salad. I think I'll pick up some Duffy Rolls too. These tasty little gems are local to Denver and are sort of like a cross between a cinnamon roll and a croissant. They are buttery and flaky and the maple pecan and irish cream are especially tasty. Perhaps I shall forget that I'm a gluten-free girl, if only for a day.

With all the brunch talk, I am reminded of Jen at Simply Breakfast who posts simple but beautiful images of her morning meal. There's a nice rustic quality about her photos. You can almost smell the coffee and feel the sun coming through the window...










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