Candyland

Today my family and I had a lovely Minnesota autumn day. We busted out the fall sweaters and made the trek down south to an apple orchard. We enjoyed a hearty country breakfast, sampled all of the apple varieties, made our way through the fall/Halloween décor at the General Store and even saw a camel. That’s right, Minnesota apple orchards have camel rides. Totally normal. It was a lovely morning and we left armed with more apples than any one family needs. Ever. (Expect to see some apple recipes coming up!)

On the way home we spotted this:

{image borrowed from here}

If you know us at all, then you know that OF COURSE we stopped! It’s Minnesota’s Largest Candy Store. I don’t even know what it’s really called other than that as that’s what the huge sign off the highway said…maybe that’s its name? I just did a quick Google search for it and nothing really came up. It’s off of hwy 169 about halfway between Jordan and Belle Plaine, MN. Or maybe it exists only in my dreams?

As you enter, you are greeted by a giant indicator light letting you know whether or not fresh pies are baking (they were). Inside is a haven of pies, strudels, nut rolls, jams, cookies, cookie cutters, apples (who even needs to go to the orchard), salsas, hundreds of kinds of root beer and other pop in real glass bottle etc, etc, etc, etc. Oh yes, and CANDY. Serious candy. Hard candy, gummy candy, gross candy, vintage candy, new candy, candy that you probably couldn’t even dream up. Chocolate that guarantees no weight gain? Yep, they have that. Candy cigarettes? Yep, multiple varieties actually. Bacon flavored bubble gum? Gross, but yep. Bubble gum flavored Mike and Ikes? Yep. Also gross sounding but indeed a real thing.

I now have a kitchen full of apples and candy and a serious test of willpower ahead! If you are up for a little Minnesota adventure, check it out!

{pies are baking}

{papa Tewks scoping out the root beer}

{candy cigarettes}

{candy}

Friday Flowers

My deepest apologies for the long absence. Between new projects, a new(ish) job and a new home, my summer has been quite busy and has completely gotten away from me. Nevertheless, I am back! :)

Though it’s been a chaotic summer, I still try to stop and smell (well, see) the roses.

Check out the flowers of my summer (thus far)…

{rinoculous centerpiece close up}

{whole foods tulip cart}

{"window" boxes at the pool}

{colorful sunflowers}

{birthday gladiolus from my friend, emily}

{gerbera dasies in lemonade jars}

Fabulous Farrah: a DIY t-shirt project

"Once upon a time there were three beautiful girls who went to the police academy, and they were each assigned very hazardous duties. But I took them away from all that and now they work for me. My name is Charlie."

I love Charlie’s Angles. To be very clear, I love the 70’s Charlie’s Angles à la Aaron Spelling…NOT the crappy Cameron Diaz movie Charlie’s Angels. Disgrace.

I love how chic and glamorous the Angles were running in heels with perfect flowing hair and always, always solving the case and catching the bad guys. And they drove such cool cars.

My absolute favorite angel is Jill Munroe played by Farrah Fawcett. My grandpa had the real iconic 70’s red swimsuit wearing Farrah poster hanging in his basement when I was young. It seems to have vanished after he died and my grandma sold that house, but I have faith that it will resurface someday and find a new home on my wall. My dad recalls that he painted black light paint over that poster when he was younger so that she glows. Even more 70’s!!!

I googled the poster a while back just to see how much they were going for these days (a lot for an original), but I came across many other items with the same poster image. One item in particular was an orange t-shirt with the Farrah image screen printed on the front. The seller was asking $65 and I thought, “Well hell, I can make that for next to nothing”. So I did!

I found a pale orange v-neck t-shirt at Old Navy for $5.99. I used a leftover iron on transfer from our Lost finale party. I had purchased the transfers from Michael’s for $9.99 for a pack of 10.

I found a high resolution image online of the poster and then reversed the image in Photoshop (you will need to reverse it so that it prints as a mirror image on the transfer). Print image from a laser printer onto the iron on transfer.

Place transfer on shirt where you want the image to be and press iron down for 20 seconds. Move around the image pressing each section down (do not drag iron back and forth over image like you do when ironing clothes). I went around the edges a second time for an additional 5 seconds. When the transfer is cool enough to touch, slowly peel back the transfer to reveal image. Voila!

{snapshots of t-shirt making}

{modeling Farrah t-shirt next to my friend's Farrah poster}

Caramel Cupcakes

As previously mentioned, I don’t bake. I respect bakers immensely. I am way too impatient for the exact timing and precise measurements that baking entails. I do however LOVE the decorating part of baking (probably the designer in me). I usually buy the break-n-bake or cake mix in a box varieties since it get me through the baking phase and into the decorating phase much quicker…and have less room for error.

A few months ago, my bookclub read Kathryn Stockett’s The Help about African-American maids working in Mississippi in 1962. I worshiped this book and highly recommend (make sure you block out a day or two before starting it as you most definitely won’t be able to put it down!). The book is packed full of baked Southern delicacies. I started thinking that if these women can whip up a pie every afternoon while holding a child on their hip, polishing the silver, cleaning an entire house, and roasting whatever type of meat is going to be served for “supper”, then I can certainly make a simple cake or something.


I chose Martha Stewart’s Caramel Cake recipe and called off my entire afternoon. I opted to make cupcakes instead because I simply thought that they would look cuter on the cake stand. It took a LONG time and I had to remake the caramel syrup* three times, but boy, were they good!

{snapshots of baking}

{on cake stand with spring flowers}

* I tried the caramel syrup in Martha’s recipe twice and it kept coming out way too watery. Finally, I busted out an old cookbook and found a new way that worked much better: Start with one cup of sugar in the pan and cook over burner until it becomes a golden liquid. Add 1/2c of boiling water. It turns out much thicker than MS’s.

Think Pink

I was in New England for work last week and couldn’t get over how GORGEOUS the cherry blossom trees were…bright pink bursts of Spring were everywhere. I started thinking about designing with the color pink and how far it’s come. It's not just for little girls’ bedrooms anymore!

{Spring in Connecticut}

For starters, there are so many shades of pink to play with. A soft, pale pink can add a little romance to a bedroom or dining room. A bold raspberry shade can make a statement in a kitchen. A hot pink can punch up a sunroom.

It’s easy to be intimidated by color. Many times we gravitate towards using it as a “pop” in pillows or accessories in a neutral space. I’m here to tell you that our favorite feminine hue is not just a pop color anymore. Check out these fun rooms where pink is the star!

Repurposing…

At the shop, I used to sell Lofco candles which are the most amazing smelling candles. They are a soy based candle that burns for over 100 hours in a hand-blown glass vessel. I always thought it was such a shame to throw away the beautiful glass after the candle was gone so I decided to try and reuse it as a vase. I chose my two favorite scents as test cases: Penthouse (Champagne scent infused with ginger, raspberry and pink grapefruit) and Powder Room (Duchess Peony combined with camellia with a hint of rain mist and cassis)…each candle in the line is smartly named after a different room the house.

I filled my sink with HOT water and Dawn and let the candles soak over night. It was surprisingly easy to dig the remaining candle wax from the glass as it was so soft from soaking. I hand washed them and let them soak again in cold water for a while before rewashing them and letting them dry. The candle is slightly oily so I wanted to make sure that I got all of the oily residue off the glass before putting flowers in it. I chose to use pink and orange hybrid roses cut short. I think that it turned out quite cute!

{snapshots of soaking, drying and arranging}

voila!

Twisted Sister

Lately I have been really into the Twisted Sister pasta salad from the Byerly’s deli. It’s very good though I always feel that it’s swimming in a little too much oil and there is a little too much cheese. Not to mention that it’s not overly easy on the wallet. So tonight I decided to take a stab at my own (healthier and cheaper) version of Twisted Sister and was very happy with the result.

Twisted Sister Pasta Salad*

1.5 oz Sun dried tomatoes (not packed in oil)
1 c Kalamata olives, pitted and sliced (I mixed in some green olives as well)
2 c Short pasta (I used Cavatappi…it would also be good with whole wheat pasta)
¼ c Parmesan or Pecorino cheese, shredded
¼ c Green onions, chopped
2 cloves Garlic
Olive Oil
Fresh basil
Red wine vinegar
Balsamic vinegar
Lemon juice
Water

*I didn’t actually measure anything so all measurements are approx. My advice is to add ingredients to your own taste. I tried to go light on the olive oil and cheese.

Add salt to pot of water and bring to a boil. Add pasta and cook to desired tenderness (I don’t like mushy pasta, so I usually cook it just past al dente). Drain pasta and set aside to cool.

In separate bowl, mix olives, tomatoes, water, red wine vinegar, and salt…adjust amounts to taste. Add mixture and onions to pasta and toss.

In a small bowl make a “dressing”. Combine olive oil, balsamic, lemon juice garlic, basil and salt (I added a little water as well and used less olive oil). Add dressing to pasta. Shred cheese over pasta. Chill for 30 mins and serve. Makes 2-3 servings.

I made it as a cold pasta salad but I think that it would be good to toss in some chicken and served warm as a main dish as well.

Byerly’s serves theirs with toasted pumpkins seeds which adds a nice crunch. I opted to leave those out and save myself a few calories.

Enjoy!

{snapshots of DIY Twisted Sister}

A Love Affair: Black and White

I love black. I love white. The danger with combining black and white is that they can lean towards boring without a punch color or two. A fun belt, some red shoes, fabulously large and dangling Anthro-esque turquoise earrings with a crisp white button down and big collar…you get it my point. One instance where I absolutely adore a plain, black and white match up is a staircase.

I love the stark contrast of a bright white rise, with the heavy black run. It’s always a clean look. A b&w staircase also creates a blank canvas to really go wild with a dramatic handrail or runner without competing for attention.

Some of my favorites:

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And my all time favorite…love, love, love this runner (when used correctly, obviously)
{source}

When my dear friend, Nat, moved into a new house in Uptown a few months back she asked me for some paint advice for her staircase. Of course I suggested my old stand by favorite b&w…and voila!
Now all she needs is some fun art!

Snapshots of a Weekend…

This past weekend, I volunteered to watch my “nephew” while my brother and sister in law were in Vegas. My “nephew” is a 10 month old Black Lab puppy. Emphasis on PUPPY. Think lots of running off energy at the dog park and very, very little sleeping. I found myself sticking close to home with him whenever possible. Even with very little uninterrupted sleep (apparently laying on your head is cuddling in puppy world); it turned out to be a lovely, low key weekend.



Clockwise from upper right…

1. worked at the shop
2. started my bookclub book which is set in Sweden so I treated myself to some Swedish Fish, naturally
3. movies and tea (Lemongrass Green Tea from Good Earth: I'm obsessed)
4. LOTS of caffeine to keep up with a puppy
5. more work at the shop
6. many, many walks to the dog park
7. some light baking*
8. sofa lounging with the pup

* I don’t bake. I just like to decorate the baked item so I buy the break-n-bake variety and simply roll it out. This gets me to the fun part much quicker. Perfect for my attention span.

Get to Know Natalie and Liz

Nat and I have been friends since 1st grade. We know each other WELL. To help you get to know us better, we wanted to play a little game called "5 Things".

[5 things]... for fun...(Natalie)

5 Things I Am Looking Forward To:
- The Michael Buble concert
- Turning a dream into a reality (creating my own fashion line)
- Buds on the trees and springtime walks around Lake Calhoun
- Meeting Mr. Right
- Going to the Walker Art Center with my bookclub

5 Things I Did Yesterday:
- Checked my email way too many times
- Laughed with my nephew
- Ran around the lake
- Ate pineapple
- Found an amazing parking space in front of my house

5 Things I Wish I Could do:
- Eat and not gain weight
- Have fresh peonies in my room every week
- Fly (so I can be somewhere new and everyday[and see out of state family/friends
more])
- Give love to every child who is lacking it
- Shop with a credit card that has no limit

5 Places I’d Like to Travel To:
- Fiji
- Paris
- Greece
- San Juan Islands outside of Seattle
- Sail boat trip around the world (with a captain, of course)



[5 things]... for fun...(Liz)

5 Things I Am Looking Forward To:
- Spending time this weekend with Chicago friends
- The Lost Finale (I want answers!)
- Going to London and Paris with my mom this summer
- Opening my own home furnishings/accessories boutique (someday)
- Summer thunderstorms

5 Things I Did Yesterday:
- Worked the shop
- Had lunch with my dad
- Discovered my new favorite green tea (Lemon at Good Earth)
- Looked (half-assed) for apartments in Linden Hills
- Went to the gym and pretended I liked it

5 Things I Wish I Could do:
- Knit
- Buy my red convertible dream car
- Be British (everything sounds better in a British accent)
- Meet Elvis Presley
- Sleep in everyday

5 Places I’d Like to Travel To:
- NYC (I’ve never been)
- Paris
- Greek Islands
- Savannah
- To the Olympics…anywhere (I love them)