My Weblog

as promised....

I can't believe it's been a whole year!!  This little blog has been a very fun outlet for me.   I've certainly enjoyed sharing all the random things I love with all of you, but the VERY best part is the wonderful friendships I've made with on-line buddies that, otherwise, I would never have met.   I truly mean that!   Thank you for all the support and kindness you've shown over the past year.   

I'll draw out a winner on Friday.  Until then, if you'd like a chance to win a special surprise gift from me, leave a comment below.  Be sure to include your name and email address so I can contact you for shipping info!   

Have a happy week~
Kim

(Ribbon bits are by Dani Modstad and can be found here, and Jen's FABULOUS tulle flowers are in her shop here.) 

pet trauma and celebrations

Please allow me to introduce Sydney.  No, no, not the chartreuse piggy...look way back in the corner hiding behind the bright pink sea plant.  There!  That's Sydney.  He's a bit camera shy.  (Yes, Sydney is a boy fish.)   This , my friends, is what happens when you go on a weekend vacation and leave the babies home with Grammy.  *Henry* had a business conference in Spokane this weekend, which happened to fall across our anniversary, so I joined him on a little weekend getaway.  We had a wonderful time staying at The Davenport Hotel, eating at one of our favorite restaurants, and I got to hang out with a super sweet on-line friend, Maegan, who so kindly spent most of her day shopping with me while *Henry* was in his meetings.   (Thank you Maeg!!)  Not to mention the UNBELIEVABLE brunch where we had front row seats to the chocolate fountain, and the 600 thread-count signature hotel linens that *Henry* scooped up from the gift shoppe on the way out.  *sigh*  It was a much needed mini-vacation. 
So back to the issue at hand...the goldfish.   A few weeks ago, while over at Grammy's house for the afternoon, Liv started wishing for a pet.  Grammy, knowing full well that neither *Henry* nor I are big pet people, started egging her on.  The pet prodding started with a puppy, which I consider the most harmless of pets, then went to a hamster or guinea pig.  (Absolutely NOT!  No fluffy rodents in this house!!)  They ended up on a goldfish, which if you know me very well, you'll know that fish are the LAST option I'd want as a pet.  I am terrified of fish.  Worse than spiders, snakes, you name it.  They completely creep me out.  *shudder*  So Liv and Grammy were scheming to get a pet while Mommy and Daddy were away on their trip.   Needless to say, we returned home to a delighted little girl who was the proud owner of new fishy friends!  Grammy had bought her not one, but TWO goldfish, a new little fishbowl, and some pink and purple rocks.  Wait, that's not what the picture looked like, right?  You see where this is heading.
After some heavy persuasion, I convinced everyone that the fishies, Sydney & Olivia (Yes, she named the "girl" fish after herself!  LOL),  should live in Livy's bedroom.  (There was no way the slimy suckers would be living in the KITCHEN where I spend the majority of my day.)    We woke up in the morning and everything looked fine, but there was this terrible stench coming from the fishbowl.  I was so disgusted I quickly shut the door and called my Mom, the one who bought the silly things, to come and clean out the bowl.  We went about our day...took Miss Olivia to school, put Gray down for a nap...and Grammy came over around 2 pm.  She walked upstairs to the bedroom, and there she found it.  Poor little Olivia the fish had passed on to fishy Heaven.  Oh NO!!!  Our little girl would be crushed!!  Grammy scrambled and quickly came up with the option to go to Petsmart to get a new one.  Uh uh!  Nope.  Not gonna happen.  It serves her right for buying our child pets while we were away.  She would not get off that easily!
So we made the deal that Grammy would run and get a new tank, one with a filter and a lid, while I picked up the little sweetie from school.  The problem is that Gram took longer than she thought and we returned home first, and I couldn't keep it from Liv.  We walked up to her room, and saw the one lone Sydney swimming around.  I told her that, "Olivia hadn't always been healthy...she was always a slow swimmer, and the bowl was just too small for two fish."  I explained that Olivia the fish had passed away to go live with all her other friends in Heaven.  She took it so well--Not so much as a tear.  And then, about 5 minutes later, I heard some muffled little sobs.  I found her huddled up hiding behind the couch bawling!!  She was devastated.  It broke my heart!
To make this incredibly long story a little bit longer, Grammy had returned with a new fish-tank, rocks, and some water conditioner.  We followed the directions precisely, and dumped little Sydney into his new home.  You will not believe what happened next!!  The poor little dude had been so traumatized, he floated right to the bottom of the tank and wouldn't move.  Olivia couldn't bear to watch and went downstairs to play.  We hoped that he would pull out of it, but it was looking grim.  I told Grammy to hurry back to the store and see if there were any other fish that resembled Sydney (He has black on the tips of his tail.), before Olivia saw.  I would not have both of her beloved pets die in one day!!  Grammy crept in and went upstairs with the new lively fish hidden in her coat.  She made the swap out, and flushed the old Sydney, that had also passed on by this time, down the toilet.  Phew!!  We called Olivia upstairs to see Sydney #2 swimming skittishly around his new tank.  Crisis averted!!
I was not trained how to handle these little childrearing catastrophes!!  Seriously, the whole situation stressed me right out.  I HATE the scaly fella, but I couldn't help but but scheme a way to get the new fish in there and I PRAY that Sydney lives a long and happy fish life.  I can't  believe I just said that!  LOL 

Okay, if you've made it this far, I'll let you in on a little secret.  Today is my Blog-iversary!!  I'll be doing a give-away to celebrate.  (You know how I love these things!)  This post is already waaaay too long, so check back soon for the details.   Let  the celebrations begin! 

 

untidy stacks

Last night I went to an organization workshop of sorts.  The speaker was an EXPERT...one of those freakishly organized (that was meant in the best way) people that runs her life with a system of 3x5 cards, and was very motivational.  It seems that while I do LOVE a spotlessly clean house, I'm not very good at it.   Or at least my attitude is all wrong.  I easily become overwhelmed by clutter and have a hard time finding the JOY in scrubbing.  (Is there joy in cleaning toilets?!  Last night, the guru told us there was...but I'm still yet to be convinced.  LOL)  I WANT to love it, I really, really do!!   So anyhow, I have two new goals: to become more organized, and to develop a love for cleaning.  I'm devoting the next few weeks to these goals.

It seems like blog topics kind of go in waves and I remember seeing some blogging friends recently post about this same thing.  Well, not finding the joy...but organizing and cleaning.  See some wonderful posts on the topic here, and here, oh and check out THIS beautiful space .  Like my new friend Morgan, I'm a bit of a stasher.  (Speaking of Morgan, I just love this girl!  When I discovered her blog a few weeks ago, I was SHOCKED at how many things we have in common.  I feel like she's my long lost sister and I'm so excited to have stumbled across her.)  Anyhow, I digress.   The everyday clean-up and disinfecting is fine.  I don't really love it (yet), but I do it.  The problem lies when it's time to put things away...I just shove.  Cram things into already overfilled bins, toss objects into drawers, pile them up in weird unorganized heaps (like shoes in my closet!!), and then I quickly shut the doors and hope nothing comes crashing out the next time it's opened.   Phew!  One of the BIGGEST areas for concern is my fabric stash.  As you know, I LOVE fabric!!  It's like my sugar...the source of most of my inspiration, and I have GOBS of it.  Yards and yards of gorgeous prints just waiting to be snipped and stitched together into something beautiful.  I get giddy just thinking about the possibilities!!  But then I'm quickly deflated when I see these untidy stacks that surround me.  The disorganization zaps my creativity, and clutters my mind.   I'm determined to get a system in place.  A system where I can see it all...with everything nicely laid out... where print combinations just appear, instead of me having to remember what random pile they are in.  Oh, I can't wait!!

This, my friends, is what my dining table looks like.  Beautiful right?   Stacks of fabric for new aprons.  (Yes, after a long vacation from aprons, I'm picking them back up again and have LOTS of new designs to show you.)   But this is my TABLE...where we are supposed to eat dinner!!  LOL   See, I need help.  I would so love some suggestions or helpful hints you've learned along the organization quest.  Really, I need all the advice I can get.   It will certainly help when we move into the new house, and I'm hoping the emptiness of it all will spur a fresh new start....but I need to deal with it all NOW!!   Help!

title-less

We DID make the cupcakes and they were DELISH!!  When you've got a craving, you've just gotta run with it.  ;)  Next time I think I'll go with the variation of the recipe on the Martha site instead of on Ina's.  While I ADORE Ina (literally, I ADORE her...her decorating style, cooking style, EVERYTHING), I think maybe she tweaked the recipe to share on Martha just a bit.   The cupcakes were good...incredibly good....but a teensy bit dense.  I'm thinking the cake flour, and large, instead of extra large, eggs will make all the difference.   Darn, guess I'll have to make them again....such a shame!!  :D

Oh, and of course we had to make our frosting the most beautiful shade of pale coral/pink.  Every time I bake something with coconut I can't help but reminisce of the Hostess Snowballs I enjoyed as a kid.  Don't let my warped memory stop you from trying this recipe...the cupcakes are MUCH more grown-up than Snowballs-- Just saying that's what our pink frosting was inspired by.  :)

And wouldn't you know, this morning in my inbox I got the coolest Daily Candy update!  (Tell me you subscibe to the daily candy mailings!?  Very cool stuff there.)  It was a post all about The Cupcake Courier! 

Is this not the coolest thing since....well....since anything, really!?  Next time we'll be able to safely and stylishly transport our goodies to share with friends.

Anyhow, we've had a rough morning here....nothing big and dramatic, just started out as a hard, and negative filled day.  While I like to keep this blog positive, some not-so-fun things do happen in my life.  I'm gonna run and practice some positive affirmations and see if we can't turn it all around.   

Lots of love~
Kim

belated love

I'm a day late!  Sorry friends, it's been a mad-house around here lately and I haven't had a second to post.  I soooo appreciate all the help with the lighting.  I'm sure most of you could have guessed which was my choice.  LOL! 

The glass reminds me of my favorite bubble glass vases!  We have 9 foot ceilings so I'm thinking the 13 inch drop will feel cozy and warm and not claustrophobic.  *gulp*  I hope.  I'm still trying to persuade *Henry* into letting us get these.  (His choice is C, BTW,  which could be cool....but isn't as dainty and sweet feeling as mine.   Option A was the compromise which he has said could be worked in....but I'm still holding out!  LOL)  Anyhow, I appreciate all of your opinions.  Countertops are next.  Soapstone?  Limestone?  Concrete?  ACK!  Too many choices.

Post Valentine's recap:
I hope you had a wonderful day yesterday celebrating all the people you love.  Ours was busy, busy (from lack of adequate planning on my part) but really good.  Liv and I made homemade cinnamon marshmallows and modge-podged paper and ribbon covered hot chocolate canisters for her teachers (and a few other special people.  *wink*)

And then we spent the rest of the afternoon bustling around town getting stuff for our romantic dinner and presents for *Henry*.  (The good man that he is, surprised me with flowers the day BEFORE Valentines Day!  Gotta give the guy points for thinking ahead.)   I'd gotten him Gwen Stefani concert tickets, but let's be honest here, those were mostly for me.  LOL  So I made up for my selfish gift giving by making him a delicious blood orange roasted chicken dinner after the kids went to bed.  I mean, what says LOVE better than roasted chicken?!  LOL

Here's the recipe:
Blood Orange Roasted Chicken with Leeks and New Potatoes:

Zest and juice of 2 blood oranges
1 stick (4 oz) butter, softened
1 shallot, finely chopped
1 tsp kosher salt
1/4 cup finely chopped Italian parsley

4 chicken breasts with skin and bone attached (about 4 lbs.)

1 bunch of leeks, white part only, cut in half lengthwise
1 lb. baby new potatoes cut in half
16 oz. baby carrots
1/4 cup olive oil
1 T. Kosher salt

1 cup chicken broth

In a small bowl, combine the orange zest, juice, butter, salt & parsley until well combined.  Place chicken on work surface.  Lift skin from chicken and press about 1 heaping Tablespoon of the "orange butter" under the skin of each chicken breast.  Place in a 13"x9" roasting pan.  Dot each breast with another teaspoon of the butter.  In a medium bowl, mix the leeks, potatoes, carrots, oil, and salt. Place around the chicken.  Roast in a 400 degree oven for 30 minutes, stirring vegetables every 10 minutes.  Chicken should no longer be pink and the potatoes tender.  Deglaze pan with chicken broth over medium heat for 1 minutes.  Serve chicken with pan drippings and vegetables.  Serves 4

This is the EASIEST recipe.  Really!!  And it's quick.  Try it out.  ;)
So we finished our dinner with chocolate covered strawberries from our favorite bakery and some Martinelli's.   Yummmmm  It was a wonderful day.  And one of the BEST parts is that there were leftovers for breakfast.  :)

Thanks for checking in.  I hope you all had as great a Love-Day as we did!  During the writing of this post I got a hankering for some coconut cupcakes.  LOL  As if I need one more OUNCE of sugar today!  Off to bake!
Best~
Kim

OH!  I nearly forgot...don't forget to check out Nancy's contest for her cool frames.  Such a generous and beautiful person she is.   

Birthday recap and flushmount lights

It was ROUGH going without internet for almost a week but we survived.   It ended up being a faulty cable modem that I could fix myself.   Now I'm not a techy girl, but if the computer or sewing machine goes down, I'll do just about anything to get it back up.  LOL  I apologize if I didn't return an email that was sent over this time.  There were just soooo many and I wasn't able to get to them all.   I'm still working on it, but if you sent one that needs a response soon, email me again and I'll be certain to reply.  :)

Celebrations:
Sweet little Liv's birthday was a success.  I can't believe my baby turned 4!!   I swear it was just last month that I was laid up on bed-rest with this little peanut.  It was an adventurous pregnancy, and a very painful c-section and recovery...but from day 1, Miss Olivia has been nothing short of an angel.  I am still not sure how I lucked out to have her as my little girl, and I'm so proud of the sweetie she is.  *sniff*  Okay, here are some highlights~

She was delighted to get new sparkly "high heels" from Grammy!   To be honest, she was in gift HEAVEN!  She's so spoiled with lots of people who love her.   I fizzled out on my motherly party planning duties this year and ordered a Cold Stone cake. *gasp*   It was good, but I promise to get back into my true baking form for the next one.  :)  We had such fun and all the partying wore Olivia right out.  I even caught the birthday princess sleeping in her crown.  LOL  Oh, and see that little cutie up there in the right corner?  That's Mr. Gray!  Yes, I do in fact have TWO children, despite the fact that I tend to neglect blogging about him.  (It's entirely coincidental that it happens.  But when other people started noticing and asking about him, I realized that I DO tend to leave him out.  Poor little dude.)   Isn't he looking so big?!  At 16 months he is AAAALL boy.  Rambunctious,  spirited, and as fearless as he is handsome.   With the longest eyelashes you've ever seen...literally, they've got to be over half an inch!    Amazing.

Lighting poll:
Okay friends, I'm asking for some help again.  (Remember our white kitchen debate?  Yep, I won that one.  *wink*)  We are now in the midst of choosing lighting.  We've chosen everything:  chandeliers, sconces, pendants...but just our regular flushmount ceiling fixtures have yet to be decided upon.  (For the hallways, and laundry room, etc.  Hey, we can't have draping crystals EVERYWHERE.  LOL)   As with most decisions involved in building, *Henry* and I disagree till we are blue in the face....yet when we walk into a space, we agree on everything.  It's ridiculous!   So I thought I'd conduct an unofficial poll and call on my blog friends for some help.  Here are 3 simple and uncluttered options that have been discussed.    I, of course, have my favorite....*Henry* has his.  Of these 3, which do you like best?  :)

Note: all the finishes would be the same- Polished Nickel.   (It's beautiful...like a little warm sparkly bling accenting your ceiling.)    The style of our home is quiet eclectic, but if I had to categorize it, I'd say the architecture is Transitional....basically the best of both modern and traditional.  Clean lines, lots of floof.   (My typical OliveJuice style.  LOL)  And quite undeniably there is definitely a sense of Granny-Chic.    Very Brocade Home-esque.  (Which, BTW, have you seen their latest catalog?!  Be still my beating heart!)   So, this being said, an opinion of the fixtures above would be much appreciated.  :)

I need to run....still not showered for the day.  ACK!   Thanks in advance for your help!!

ETA: I nearly forgot to tell you where you can get the digital goodies used in this post.  The curled frames are by the wonderful Nancy Comelab.  And the birthday accents are by the super talented Natalie Braxton.