Happy Thanksgiving!

"Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise; be thankful unto Him, and bless His name. For the Lord is good and His love endures forever; His faithfulness continues through all generations."

Psalm 100: 4-5

Photo: Country Living

Kind Kitchens

I was just in my kitchen baking Paula Deen's Fresh Apple Cake from Georgia wishing I had a bigger kitchen! No matter what, there never seems to be enough counter or cabinet space. The ingredients for the cake took up the most of the counter space in the kitchen, so I had to chop my apples on the kitchen table. Ideally, I would like to do all of my prep in the kitchen!

Most people purchase a home based on three things: the kitchen, the kitchen, and the kitchen. It's the heart of the home, where the family gathers after long days at work and school, and where girlfriends gossip late at night while enjoying several glasses of wine. I purchased my home based on it's price, not the kitchen. So my kitchen is nowhere near the size that I would like for it to be. But it serves its purpose and for that I am thankful. It's small, but quaint, cozy, and most importantly- organized! My dream kitchen is a kitchen that is bright, spacious, easy to navigate, and organized. I like kitchens that offer a mixture of both modern and traditional styles. That way the kitchen is crisp, but cozy at the same time.

I may not have the kitchen of my dreams now, but I think that when you dream, you should dream BIG. So here are the pictures of my dreams...

 

Gail Drury

Joan Schindler

Ken Kelly

James Howard

Oh and by the way, the Fresh Apple Cake from Georgia is DELISH!!

I Know, I'm a Holiday Ahead

I know the Thanksgiving holidays are a few weeks away, but I can't help but to start thinking about Christmas. It is my absolute most favorite time of the year. It's my favorite time of the year because I get to see my family for more than just a long weekend, the food is fabulous, the air is crisp and fresh, and the mood is consistently festive. And you KNOW I love Christmas decorations! I get so excited when I see pictures like these. Enjoy!

Martha Stewart

Martha Stewart

RMSer Maureen Georgia



Leann Michael Interiors




RMser Manzardo

 

RMser Manzardo



Bedroom Blues

Before the start of last week, decorating my bedroom was #2 on my list of things to do in my house before the end of the year. But last week, I paid $2,500 for a new transmission, a $300 vet bill, and $180 for a rental car. So now I'm not even sure that decorating my bedroom is even on the list anymore! However, that doesn't mean that I have to stop the planning and thought process... 

I have decorated every room in my house except for my bedroom. It is the room that I spend the most time in, so I want it to be perfect. Perhaps that's why it it's last on the list. Right now it's a blank palette. It has a bed and the basic furniture. No pictures are on the wall. It has no personality. It's not me. Here is proof... 

Boring.

My definition of a master bedroom is a room that makes you sigh with relief after a long hard day at the office. It welcomes you with open arms and makes you feel cozy and warm. Every aspect of the room should reflect who you are, your personality, what you like and what you don't like. I personally like things really neat, really clean, really romantic, and really fresh. I don't like a lot of color, so I tend to lean more on white bedding with accents of color. I like the bedding to be soft and inviting with rows of plush pillows. I would love to have a padded headboard, but its going to be really hard to give up my bed that I purchased from The Bombay Company for just $250!! I like a mixture of traditional and modern elements with different textures. So I might keep the bed, find some white bedding, include a traditional soft reading chair, add some modern lighting, and maybe some modern nightstands. So much to do!

In the meantime, I have turned to pictures to get some inspiration. Here are some pictures of "my personality."

Designer: Troy Beasley

Designer: Candice Olson

Designer: Candice Olson

Designer: Sarah Richardson

So you see my style. I'm taking donations! :) Stay tuned and hopefully there will be a "Before & After" post on my bedroom!

The Diaper Cake

I have received so many great comments about the picture of the diaper cake that I posted in my Baby Pumpkins & Cupcakes post. I have to say that the making of the diaper cake was my favorite part of the whole baby shower planning process. I love creating things for other people and imagining what their reactions will be when they see them. I know that we are all busy these days, but there is nothing more personal than a homemade gift that you put your heart and your time into making.

I saw a diaper cake at a baby shower a few years ago. The host of the shower purchased the cake on the web. They looked so easy to make, so I immediately went home to do some You Tubing. I found that their are so many different ways to make them and decorate them. You can decorate them with baby items or you can make them look like a wedding cake- which is actually my preference. Here are a few cakes that are made by the Baby Gift Idea.

After watching several "how to" videos on You Tube, I came up with my own method of making them. My cakes are completely held together with rubber bands and decorated using silk flowers, ribbon, and whatever else I can find that represents the theme of the event. I like to use the cake as a centerpiece, so I make them substantial- at least 4 to 5 tiers. I can't divulge all of my secrets, but I can show you some pics! Here are some snapshots of the process of my most recent diaper cake:

So this was my first cake...





And this was my latest cake...



The cakes take about 3-5 hours to make, depending on the size. The reactions from my friends are worth every second! I would love to make them for you or anyone else you know! Just message me!

Chocoholic Cupcakes

I recently served these cupcakes at a baby shower. The plan was to do an elegant, classy shower on a budget. I love baking, instead of ordering cupcakes from a fancy bakery, I planned to make my own cupcakes from scratch. The week before the shower was CRAZY for me, so unfortunately I didn't have time to do anything from scratch. So I had to think fast and come up with something that would be just as tasty without caving into buying expensive cupcakes at a bakery. So I turned to the trusty boxed cake mix and added an ingredient to make it extra special. I also made a rich and delectable chocolate frosting. They turned out so good and moist!! Here is how I did it...


Cupcakes

• 1 box of Devil's Food cake mix, preferably Duncan Hines
• 3 large eggs, room temperature
• 1 1/3 cup of water
• 1/2 cup of vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 325. Line standard muffin tins with cupcake liners. Prepare cupcake Mix the first 4 ingredients together with a stand or hand mixer. Mix for about 2 minutes. Divide batter evenly amongst the lined cups using an ice cream scoop. Using an ice cream scoop reduces clean up and ensures that each cupcake is the same size. Fill them about 2/3's of the way up. Sprinkle a teaspoon or so of chocolate chips on top of the batter of each cupcake. Bake for about 20 minutes. Remove from the muffin tins and cool on a cooling rack for about 15 minutes. This makes 24 cupcakes.

For a healthier option, substitute the vegetable oil with 1/3 cup of unsweetened apple sauce and only use 1 cup of water. This is noted on the back of the cake mix box.

Chocolate Icing

• 3 cups of powdered sugar
• 1/3 cup of whole milk
• 3/4 cup of unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 stick of unsalted butter, room temperature

In a large bowl, sift the powdered sugar and cocoa powder together. In another large bowl, add 1 cup of the sifted mixture, the butter, and a tablespoon of milk. Using a hand mixer or whisk, mix the ingredients together. It will be lumpy at first, but keep the faith! Repeat that step for another 3-4 times until you reach the desired consistency.

Icing the Cupcakes

Icing is MESSY, so I have come up with a way to control some, not all, of the mess. After all, icing cupcakes is the best part! Place the corner of a large food storage bag in a large cup. Fold the tops of the bag over the cup. Using a spatula or large spoon, spoon the icing into the bag that is inside of the cup. Once all of the icing is in the bag, life the side of the bag out of the cup and seal the bag. Make sure that all of the icing is in a corner of the bag. Cut the corner of the bag. The size of the cut depends on how small or large you want your design on the cupcakes to be. I ice the cupcakes using a swirl pattern, but you can use any pattern you like.

If you don't want to use the freezer bag method, a butter knife or small icing spatula will work perfectly.

Orange Tango Punch

I served this punch at a recent baby shower and the feedback was phenomenal! I wanted a punch that was crisp, fresh, and beautiful. Most importantly, I did not want it to include sherbet. It seems like all baby shower punches include sherbet, so I wanted something that tasted just as good, but was different. So I did some research and came up with this recipe:

• 1 6 oz can of frozen concentrated orange juice, thawed
• 1 cup of frozen concentrated lemonade, thawed
• 2 cups of cranberry juice cocktail
• 3/4 cup of super fine sugar
• 3 cups of water
• 2 liters of lemon-lime soda, chilled
• 2 cups of ice or an ice ring
• 2-3 lemons, sliced
• 2-3 naval oranges, sliced

Mix the first 5 ingredients together in a punch bowl or a pitcher until the sugar is dissolved. Chill the mixture for 1-2 hours. Right before serving, add the lemon-lime soda, ice, lemons, and oranges. Stir and enjoy!

Baby Pumpkins & Cupcakes

I've just made it home after a fabulous day with Ragi, a great friend that I have known since high school. Today I hosted a baby shower for her to celebrate the upcoming arrival of her baby boy, Niko. I LOVE his name...

How cute is she?? I can only pray that I look that fabulous when I am 8 1/2 pregnant!!

This is the second largest baby shower that I have hosted and I must say that me and event planning have a great relationship. I LOVE IT! The main idea of my baby showers is CLASS! And if I'm lucky, CLASS ON A BUDGET!! Here's how I did this one...

The planning of most baby showers starts with a theme. Halloween was this weekend, so pumpkins were the first thing that came to my mind. I thought it would be strange if people showed up at a shower the day before Halloween that was decorated in blue, white, and yellow. The next step involved determining the number of guests and sending out invitations. It may seem lazy, but to me the easiest, fastest, and cheapest way to send out invitations is by e-mail. I found this great website, www.pingg.com, that has REALLY cute, creative, and classy e-cards. I like it tons better than E-vite.com. I was unable to find an e-card with a picture of a baby and a pumpkin together. So my brother, a very talented graphic designer, created this graphic and I created my own e-card.



After I sent out the invites, I started planning the decor. The easiest way for me to decorate an event is to plan around a centerpiece. The centerpiece for this shower was a diaper cake that I made out of about 200 Huggies diapers that I purchased in bulk from Costco.

I am going to do a future post on the making of the diaper cake, so stay tuned! The next thing I planned were the party favors. I don't think that offering favors is standard for baby showers. But I was able to find some cute baby pumpkins in the dollar section at Target. They were 6 for $1, so I bought all they had! I stuffed them with Hershey kisses and placed them in a basket by the door so that people could grab one on the way out. The kids that came loved them more than the adults did!

Next up- FOOD! Ragi is Indian, so I wanted to incorporate some Indian food as well as the standard baby shower food. I love fresh flowers, so I centered the food around an arrangement of sunflowers, which are in season and on sale. Ragi's mom made some samosas as well as some other Indian delicacies. I got some fried chicken fingers from Publix (which are in my opinion the BEST chicken fingers out there), spinach dip, Mexican pinwheels, crudites, and a huge fruit salad. You must balance the healthy with the non-healthy! I also made my YUMMY Orange Tango punch. Click here for my recipe. I wanted something that looked beautiful, tasted fresh, and something that did NOT call for sherbet. It was a hit!

For dessert, I wanted to incorporate lots of candy and sweets since the shower was the day before Halloween. The centerpiece of the dessert table was my Chocoholic Cupcakes. I made 48 cupcakes (minus the icing) in less than 10 minutes. If you don't believe me, see my recipe. I also filled candle votives that I got on sale at Michael's with candy corn and M&M's. I decorated the table with an arrangement of sunflowers, some baby pumpkins, and some table runners I purchased from TJMaxx.

Last but not least- the dreaded baby shower games. I am not a fan of lame baby shower games. The "dirty diaper" game has to be my least favorite. In my opinion, games should be fun, easy, and interactive. I think that games should start with an ice breaker. That way, people feel more comfortable interacting with each other during the games. So I asked each person to introduce themselves, say how they knew Ragi, and and offer some "words of wisdom." After the ice breaker, I held two drawings. I passed out the envelopes that Ragi will be using for her thank you cards. I asked each person to write their name and address on the envelope. I then drew two cards. The winners received a $5 Starbucks card. It was easy and it makes doing the thank you cards that much easier for Ragi. The second game was called "How Old Were Ragi and Loli ?"

I had 15 pictures of Ragi and her 2-yr old daughter Loli at various ages. Each person had to guess how old they were by looking at the pictures. The person with the most correct answers won a prize. It was easy and people interacted with each other as they were viewing the pictures.

All in all, I enjoyed every minute of the planning process. With the help of Ragi's mom, I was able to stay within my budget of $250 and I received some great feedback. Perhaps Ragi's daughter enjoyed the day the most...