The unofficial start to summer is almost upon us!   In chatting with a friend of mine about Memorial Day plans, I realized that I hadn't outlined any menu plans either, so at some point in the next day or two I'll be elbowing my way through the grocery store with the rest of the masses and searching for inspiration. 

One thing I'll definitely be serving?  My amazingly easy sweet potato fries.  These are one of my absolute favorite side dishes and, frankly, I can't believe I haven't shared them already. 

They're incredibly easy to make, and because they're baked, they're actually pretty good for you (do they still count as "fries" if they're not fried? Eh, whatever. They're delicious.)  Does life get any better?  I submit that it does not.



EG's Baked Sweet Potato Fries 

3-4 sweet potatoes, peeled
1/4 c. vegetable oil (if you like them crisper, use 1 Tbsp)
1/3 c. Parmesan cheese, grated
pepper

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees
2. Slice potatoes into strips (think steak fry size; about 1/2 inch thick and 1/4 inch wide)
3. Toss potato strips with vegetable oil and Parmesan cheese til well coated.
4. Spread potato strips in a single layer on a greased baking sheet.  Sprinkle with cracked pepper.
5. Bake fries for 30 minutes, or until lightly browned, turning every 10

Note: I haven't tried this yet, but I'm thinking that hitting these with cayenne pepper might be really yummy as well.  The combo of heat and sweet almost always makes for good eats.

I can't tell you how amazing these are.  Because of the sugar content in the sweet potato, it caramelizes and tastes as much like a dessert as it does a side dish.  But, because sweet potatoes are one of the superfoods, (they're super high in vitamins A and C, are a great source of fiber and have a lower starch content than white potatoes) you can actually feel really good about eating them.  Considering we're cannonballing right into swimsuit season, I need all the happy feels I can get!

Happy Memorial Day weekend everyone!

Hello, friends!  Long time, no talk!  I apologize for the radio silence.  It's been a crazy couple of weeks.  I went to Houston to visit my best friend and followed it up with a rousing round of stomach flu.  Good times! Things are starting to get back to normal, though(whatever that means), and I'm trying to find my stride with my now very mobile puffling in tow.

The time I spent in Texas got me good and ready for some warmer weather here, and I'm getting very excited for spring and my munchkin's first Easter.   Bring on the sunshine!  Bring on the bunnies, ducks and geese!  Bring on pastels!  Bring on the floral dresses!  Bring on the handfuls of Cadbury Mini Eggs!!  (World's. Best. Candy.)

I spent some time this week pulling down the winter decor, and, with the help of Target, a local farmers market and one fabulous blogger, added some spring cheer to my home.


I started by filling a large green glass jar with spring branches.  (I would love to use real branches from the woods out back, however a certain furry critter that lives in our house has a tendency to eat them and I'm not sure that's in his best interest.  If your house doesn't contain a mildly idiotic cat, I highly recommend going the free route).  I added my one of my favorite spring decorations - a big fat verdigris bird - and an over-sized art book from one of my favorite artists.


Target's Dollar Spot came through with the sweet little wooden bunny light garland.  So cute!  I can see using that in the scrunchkin's room for years to come.


Kellie, a fantastic blogger and designer extraordinaire, created and shared some adorable spring printables at her website Nest of Posies.  Initially, I just matted and framed the beautiful watercolor egg art, but I think I may go back and add her spring quote art as well.  It is just too darn pretty!

Finally, I added some colorful (cat-friendly) posies to my monogram etched glass vase (tutorial here) and left well enough alone.


And speaking of posies...
Okay, so it's possible I went a little nuts with the flowers.  I feel no shame.  I stopped by the local farmers market with the intent of picking up a small bouquet, but they all just looked so cheery and they were all so CHEAP that I couldn't resist getting a few bunches.  I wound up getting 2 dozen pink roses, a huge batch of baby's breath, and a huge batch of purple stock for $9.50.  Hard to beat!


I added a few roses and shoots of stock to the purple flowers that remained from my Valentine's day bouquet (thanks, honey!) and arranged them in a footed hurricane on the pedestal table in the middle of the living room.  It's one of the first things you see when you walk in the door and the colors make me so happy!

The Boyd's rabbit (named Emily) was a gift from my mother when I was in college!  She's gone with me everywhere since!

 The majority of the blooms went into a galvanized bucket (also from Target's dollar spot), wrapped with some twine.  I love the juxtaposition between the somewhat rustic container and the slightly formal flowers.  It has a just-picked-from-my-nonexistent-garden feel. 


A few more flowers and a bright bowl of eggs got tucked into my demilune entry table.  The eggs are the perfect height for the scrunchkin to play with.  It's like the world's easiest Easter egg hunt. 

The last little spot in the corner received some life with greenery, my favorite chunky candlesticks and another Target Dollar Spot buy: this sweet little white rabbit.  (I dressed him up with one of my daughter's hair bows).  I have to be careful with what I put in reach of little hands, and his carved look is actually made of plastic and is perfect for my delicate little angel Vlad the Destroyer. 

The results make me so happy!  I love seeing the bright colors and cheerful displays.  While winter gasps its last outside, my living room looks like it's ready for Peter Cottontail himself. 

My goal now is to give some much needed attention to a few of the rooms I tend to ignore, and a good spring cleaning to some organizationally challenged spots that somehow never manage to make it in front of the camera :)  Hopefully it won't take me another two weeks to get around to it!

Have a great week friends!

I realize that admitting this is akin to high treason, but I've never been a big fan of french toast.  (Can we still be friends?)  Something about soaking thin slices of Wonder bread in a weird eggy mixture just didn't do it for me.  Any time someone would make it for me, I would wind up pushing it around my plate willing it to be a little less, you know, French. 

I have recently come to recognize the error of my ways, however (or perhaps, more accurately, the error in my bread).  My Culinarily Inclined Significant Other whipped up an absolutely delicious french toast using challah bread and his own favorite recipe and I'm not exaggerating when I say that it's one of the Best. Breakfasts. Ever. 

Challah bread, a braided Jewish bread, is a denser, sweeter bread with a soft shiny crust (you can find it most grocery store bakeries).  The texture creates the perfect medium for soaking up the egg, vanilla, honey and orange mixture and you're left with a french toast that's moist, thick and infused with flavor.  It's so wonderfully rich, in fact, that half the time I don't even bother to top it (though it's pretty amazing either way). 

It has become one of our favorite special occasion foods, and this week we'll add some crispy bacon, fruit salad, coffee (and with any luck, mimosas), and ring in the New Year right.  (I'll start my resolutions after breakfast...)  :)



Ingredients 

Every year I swear that I'm going to make it simpler on myself - I'll skip the handwritten Christmas cards, nix the homemade cookies and pies and scale back on the decorations.  And every year I fail miserably at keeping that promise. 

The truth is, I get wrapped up in the season.  I enjoy doing those things.  And, while some people don't understand it, I truly love being busy.  If I'm honest, I think it has a lot to do with not having too much time to think.  But I digress. 

One of my "we'll see if I get to it" projects this year was a centerpiece for our Christmas Eve and Christmas festivities and a properly laid table.  While I love arranging flowers, they take some serious time and large chunks are hard to cut out with the Little Bee attempting to eat her way through the living room (Ironically, she still won't eat food...).  And digging out and hauling up seasonal dishes, napkin rings, drinkware (etc) seemed a little daunting as well.

But, true to form, I got the itch today and, while my husband watched Chompers the Red Cheeked Reindeer, I pulled together a beautiful floral centerpiece and tablescape.  Below are pics of the results. 











I have to say, while I realize it was completely unnecessary, I'm glad that I was able to find some time to do this stuff.  Creating things is such a mood lifter and the result makes me feel a little closer to the magic. 

Well, I'm off to go scrape some of this Christmas ornament glitter off.  I look like I exfoliated with a pixie.

Meanwhile, I pray you have a beautiful holiday filled with family, friends, delicious food and an overabundance of grace and laughter.  :)

Merry Christmas, friends!

Happy One Week Until Christmas!

Just like everyone else, our week will be spent dashing around making all of the last minute purchases, finalizing menus, scrubbing the surfaces and hiding all of the random items that we don't have time to put away properly in a pile in our closet.  But truly, I love this time.

We're hosting family and friends and planning everything from a beautiful sit-down Christmas eve dinner to a Christmas morning brunch and Christmas night cocktails.  Our house will be full to the brim with overnight guests, too, so certainly there is plenty left to do.  But, as to decor, everything is pretty close to what it's going to be.  Below are some shots of the twinkling lights, colorful packages and playful touches that I love.

Enjoy!  (PS Many of these photos were taken at night because I love the look of the house in the string lights!)

I went for an elegant mantle with streamlined glitter trees, a beautiful carved deer and tall hurricanes with golden candles.  Though the greenery, ribbons and baubles remain on the top, the stockings have been relocated to places where little hands can't accidentally pull something down on themselves.

The photobomber in the chair is Griffin,the resident Scrooge of the household.  His favorite part of Christmas is taking his displeasure out on the ornaments on the trees. :)

I think my favorite thing about our decorations is that almost every one of them is something personal.  The little bear on the side table was sown for my baby by my Texas mama; the angel next to him was the first decoration in my collection and purchased for me as a gift from my mom when I was in high school; the ornaments on the tree represent different events that happen each year in our lives. There are Santas carved and painted by my father-in-law, a wooden rocking chair I used as a child, a nutcracker from the first ballet my husband and I saw together...  Christmas for us remains the magic that has surrounded and accompanied us throughout our lives.

With close to ten people here for Christmas morning, we have huge piles of presents stacked in all corners (Not all of them are FROM us! We have my mom's in advance!).  The advantage is that they serve as decoration and made my job easier!

The demilune is piled with toys and more gifts.  The stack of blocks at the top is actually an advent calendar that holds treat behind each numbered door.  And of course that sweet little face is the true magic this year.  (She was very curious about the camera.  I'm fairly sure the inner monologue was "I could eat that.")

Due to the tiny, mobile little munchkin, the tree is sporting fewer ornaments this year, and all of the ones at the bottom are large (so they can't be swallowed), plastic (so they can't be broken) and have ribbon ties (so I don't have to worry about her eating a metal S hook).  I also tied jingle bells to each of the lower branches as a sort of warning system should they be under attack!

I used to hang garland around the front door, but I actually really like it swagged across the large dining room window.  I wove pinecones, berries, and golden bells throughout for a simple, classic design.

I love how the mirror over the buffet reflects the glittering lights of the dining room tree!

In the dining room, a beverage station for adults sits at the end of the bar.  In the kitchen, a cocoa station invites little and big kids alike to help themselves.

And a few more of the sparkly details...


I'd love to see or hear how your plans and house are coming together!  Have a wonderful (stress free!) weekend, friends, and try to enjoy all the last minute details!


Happy Christmasing!

I love a lot of things about Christmas: strands of twinkling lights; brightly wrapped packages; seeing cars with Christmas trees strapped precariously to the top; specialty cookies (that I might as well apply directly to my thighs 'cause, Lord knows, that's where they're gonna end up anyway); giant inflatable holiday figures that wave cheerfully from front lawns at night and melt into a Wicked Witch style massacre scene during the day.  I even love the gifts (I know you're not supposed to admit that, but I like trying to find things that will make people smile). 

But, by far, my favorite thing about this time of year is the people. I love being surrounded by my friends and family - making plans for visits, and cookie swaps, and shopping trips and wrapping parties and special meals...  It's good stuff.

This year, we have a lot of friends and family coming to us (I suspect it has more to do with the Baby Bee than my husband and I, but hey, we'll take it), so the guest room got a special holiday update.


I love the idea of having holiday bedding for all of beds, but money and space are not exactly abundant currently.  I do have a beautiful red and white quilt made by my great grandmother, however.  Even with the matching red sheets, the ensemble would still be appropriate in summer, but add a small green and red throw and a few holiday pillows and the whole thing looks ready for a long winter's nap.


Those holiday pillows are, in fact, more placemat pillows.  I purchased both placemats at Target and had them stuffed and closed back up in less than thirty minutes.  I love them!


In addition to some clean fluffy towels (I like to have them out ahead of time in case guests want to freshen up when they arrive), I make sure to leave an alarm clock for anyone who doesn't use their phone.  The vintage style of this Ikea alarm clock is so classic and reminds me of being a kid (and who doesn't want to feel like a kid on Christmas?)


At the bottom of the bed, I've left an assortment of goodies meant to welcome visitors and put them in the right frame of mind.  A stack of books about Christmas makes for light night time reading.  A few bottles of Pellegrino and a small wrapped box of fancy chocolates feels special for snuggling in.  And who needs a mint on the pillow when you can have a candy cane instead?  Stacking it all (along with some pretty posies) on a tray at the bottom of the bed makes for easy relocation.


Finally, tied to the silver bucket with some jute twine is a Christmas tag bearing the all-important WiFi password.  Writing it down ahead of time ensures guests have it when they need it and don't have to hunt you down in the middle of the night.

There is much left to do, but at least I feel like my guests will have a nice, clean place to stay while they're here (although at least one pillowcase will need to be rewashed as my cat seems to have grown roots to it.  Maybe I can pass it off as fur-lined...).

What steps do you take before guests arrive?  Any items that you stock up on ahead of time to make their (and your) lives easier?

I hope your holiday plans are coming together and that you're taking a moment to Enjoy The Season!!  Talk soon!

Happy Friday, y'all!  I'm sorry I'm so late on posting this week - it's been a busy one.  My mama is having surgery today (prayers appreciated!) so I spent some time at her house helping her get ready for it.  And while, as always, I have a zillion projects in progress at my house, I wasn't able to shoot them all just yet.  But I did pull one together that has injected some much needed cheer into one of my least favorite spots in the house.

As you know, we rent, and our apartment is not huge.  In particular, our kitchen is a bit outdated and small and I don't often do projects in it because it frustrates me (I desperately want to paint the cabinets, replace the hardware, upgrade the appliances, change out the lighting, etc. Alas...).  However, I really felt it needed some holiday spirit.  There aren't any free walls in the kitchen, so the window was the only available spot. 

I started with a small faux cedar and pine cone wreath (I highly recommend investing in a good quality wreath or two that you can use year after year.  This one has been reinvented at least 6 times now and it still looks great.) 


I found these adorable little chipboard and metallic tags in the Dollar Spot at Target (3 for a dollar! So cute!).


I pulled out some large chipboard letters from my scrapbooking supplies (Ahhh scrapbooking.  Remember when there was time?  Those were the days...).  I actually really liked the color and designs of the letters, but they didn't show up well on the natural color of the tags, so I decided to paint them with some acrylic paint.  Besides, the red looked much more festive. 


After the red paint dried, I added some gold metallic wax finish to bring out the design of the glitter underneath. 

Once everything was dry, I used a hot glue gun to adhere the letters to the tags and then attached them to the bottom of the wreath with green florist wire (I love florist wire.  To me, it's the crafter's equivalent of duct tape).


Finally, I added a sparkly red ribbon to the top and tied it to the oh-so-fabulous curtain rod provided by the apartment complex (we're not allowed to attach anything to the windows.  Sigh.). 


I love the result!  So simple, and yet it really made a difference in the workhorse of a room.  In particular, I love the message: JOY.  It's a good reminder to focus on the truly important things I've been given - my family, my husband, my beautiful, beautiful baby.  If the kitchen truly is the heart of the home, then it seems important that the spirit we choose to embed is one of joy and thanksgiving. 


Happy Christmasing, guys! More holiday projects and decor to come!!