Outfit of the Week and Week Recap and Happy New Year!

I know this is totally dorky, but I used to take pictures of my outfits all the time.  Don't make fun of me--I find that getting dressed can be a creative expression and taking and posting pictures of my outfits kind of forces me to get out of a rut.  Plus it also helps me realize what looks good and what doesn't, because frankly mirrors can be a bit deceiving and there's nothing quite like seeing what you look like to other people.

All of which is to say that I'm going to start trying to take an Outfit of the Week photo once a week.  Here's what I wore yesterday:

Jacket:  Ann Taylor Loft

Shirt:  Anthropologie from yeeeeeeeeeeears ago

Jeans:  Ann Taylor Loft

Boots:  Banana Republic (2 or so years ago)

The necklace is a combination of three pendants that I've had for awhile.  One is a gold heart, another a gold star and the other a ruby, all of which were gifts from my parents over the years!  Thanks guys! 

In other news, my hair is getting long and I may not have made the bed yesterday morning.  Sorry mom!

This week we also celebrated our 7th (whaaaaa?!?!) wedding anniversary and I have tomorrow off work, so I plan on doing lots of cooking and house work.  We're not much for big New Years celebrations, so it'll be a low-key night at home with lots of champagne and some good food.  I'm looking forward to it.

Hope everyone has a very happy (and safe!) New Years's celebration.  May 2011 be filled with much happiness for you.

Details

In addition to painting, painting, more painting, and even more painting, I've been slowly replacing some of the 1983 brass hardware in our house in favor of new black hardware.  (And in cases where I haven't wanted to replace, I've simply spray painted.)  I think details like this really help make a home look pulled together and getting rid of rusty and dusty fixtures just makes things look clean and bright. 

Case in point:

Old Doorknobs (some were like this and others were a little less shiny)

New Doorknobs

Old window sash lock

New window sash lock

What do you think?  Better, right?  The best part is that this project isn't break-the-bank expensive and they take very little time.  Switching out a sash lock costs less than $3 and takes about 5 minutes.  Changing out a doorknob costs less than $15 and takes about 10 minutes. 



Recipe: Mushroom Bread Pudding

This fall I had the opportunity to have dinner at Johnson & Wales University's culinary school, which was a really neat experience.  It was a four course meal with lots of small plates prepared by the students, but the highlight (at least to me) was mushroom bread pudding.  I was able to find a recipe on the Epicurious Android app, so I made it for a work Thanksgiving potluck and it was such a hit that I decided to make it again for Christmas. 

Mushroom Bread Pudding

Ingredients:

4 cups (1/2-inch) fresh bread cubes (preferably brioche or challah; about 5 ounces)
1 1/2 pounds mixed fresh wild mushrooms such as chanterelle, cremini, and oyster, trimmed
1/2 cup finely chopped shallot
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
2 large garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 cups half-and-half
4 large eggs
1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

Equipment: 8 (6-ounce) ramekins or a 9x13 baking pan

Preparation:

1.  Preheat oven to 350°F with rack in middle.
2.  Bake bread cubes in 1 layer in a large shallow baking pan until golden-brown, about 10 minutes.

3.  Tear or cut mushrooms lengthwise into 1/4-inch-thick pieces.

4.  Cook shallot in butter in a 12-inch heavy skillet over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until beginning to soften, about 3 minutes. Add mushrooms, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper and cook until liquid mushrooms give off has evaporated, about 15 minutes. Add parsley and garlic and cook, stirring, 2 minutes. Remove from heat.

5.  Whisk together half-and-half, eggs, cheese, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper in a large bowl. 6.  Stir in mushrooms and bread cubes until coated well and let stand 10 minutes for bread to absorb some of egg mixture.

7.  Meanwhile, butter ramekins, then put a round of parchment in bottom of each and butter parchment.

8.  Spoon mixture into ramekins and bake on a baking sheet until firm to the touch, 30 to 35 minutes. Unmold puddings and discard parchment.  (If using a baking dish, just butter the dish and don't worry about the parchment--you won't need it.)

Snow

I don't know if you've heard, but the east coast got one hell of a snow storm this past weekend.  It started snowing a bit on Saturday night and we went to sleep with a light dusting, but woke up on Sunday to this:

That is a LOT of snow for us in North Carolina.  Luckily we didn't have anywhere we had to go on Sunday, so we just enjoyed the scenery.  We did some sledding with the neighbors, built a snowman and took a bunch of photos with the sweet new camera that my brother-in-law got us for Christmas.  I'm still getting the hang of the camera and Photoshop Elements, so I'm hoping my photos improve over time, but for now, here's what I've got:

Our house looks nice!

Frosty may have had some brandy punch...

Our cul-de-sac on Monday morning.  Made for some fun driving!

There's a car in here somewhere!

Never Let Me Go

I just finished Never Let Me Go last week and thought I'd share my thoughts on this bizarre book (and I mean "bizarre" in a good way).  I say it's bizarre because the premise of the book is basically science-fiction, but the book isn't at all science-fiction-y.

The story takes place in the late 1990's at an English boarding school where the children are raised in isolation from infant-hood until their late teens, when their lives take on their ultimate purpose (which I won't share in case you want to read the book, but I will say that it's totally messed up). 

The story follows three characters (Ruth, Tommy, and Kathy) from childhood into adulthood and chronicles their friendship and romance with one another.  The characters are incredibly real--there were several times where I felt like I had met Ruth before--and that's what makes the book really come to life.  Kathy is kind and thoughtful and a bit of a follower; Tommy is trying to reign in his hot-headed nature; and Ruth is a popular, bossy know-it-all who's desperate to appear more mature than she actually is. 

The pace is on the slow side and a bit heavy, but it's well-written and incredibly thought-provoking.  I definitely recommend it if you're in the mood for something different.  Also, someone recently made a movie adaptation of Never Let Me Go and I'm anxious to see it.  Looks like I missed it in the theaters, but I'm definitely going to watch it when it comes out on Netflix.

Merry Christmas!

Hope you have a very merry Christmas this year!

Outfit of the Week

I really liked the outfit I wore to work yesterday, so I had to share. This is not the most flattering angle ever, but whatever. It's also a bit hard to tell from these photos, but the skirt is tweed with navy, gray, and sparkly silver bits in it, so the tank I'm wearing is navy, not black, and the sweater is gray. 

The boots are I think 7-8 years old and I still like them, but I think I need different boots for this outfit in the future.  Something a bit more slouchy, I think.  



Now I need to get a new pair of boots!  I'll see if I can find anything while I'm out and about today.  I mean, it's Christmastime and I've been very very good this year and I need a present for myself, right?  Right.

Homemade Marshmallows

It's that time of year again:  marshmallow-making time!  I recently made a batch of peppermint marshmallows which are always good.  Then I decided to try my hand at making chai marshmallows.  I follow the Martha Stewart recipes and always make a double batch--I figure if I'm goint o go through the work of making marshmallows, I should just go ahead and make a bunch.  They keep pretty well too.

Peppermint Marshmallows

Makes about 16

Ingredients:
Nonstick cooking spray
3 (1/4-ounce) packages unflavored gelatin
1/2 cup cold water
2 cups granulated sugar
2/3 cup light corn syrup
1/4 teaspoon coarse salt
1/4 teaspoon pure peppermint extract
Confectioners' sugar, sifted, for coating

Directions:

1.  Lightly spray a 9-by-9-inch baking pan with cooking spray. Line pan with plastic wrap, leaving a 2-inch overhang on all sides; set aside.

2.  In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, sprinkle gelatin over 1/2 cup cold water; let stand for 10 minutes. In a medium saucepan, combine sugar, corn syrup, and 1/4 cup water. Place saucepan over medium-high heat and bring to a boil; boil rapidly for 1 minute (until the candy thermometer reads 238).

This is really hot and really sticky when it's 238 degrees, so be extra careful.

3.  Remove from heat, and, with the mixer on high, slowly pour the boiling syrup down the side of the mixer bowl into gelatin mixture. Add salt and continue mixing for 12 minutes.

4.  Add peppermint extract and mix until well combined. Spray a rubber spatula or your hands with cooking spray. Spread gelatin mixture evenly into pan using prepared spatula or your hands. Spray a sheet of plastic wrap with cooking spray and place, spray side down, on top of marshmallows. Let stand for 2 hours.

5.  Carefully remove marshmallows from pan. Remove all plastic wrap and discard. Cut marshmallows into 2-inch squares using a sprayed a sharp knife. Place confectioners' sugar in a large bowl. Working in batches, add marshmallows to bowl and toss to coat. Marshmallows can be stored in an airtight container up to 3 days.

 

 

Chai Marshmallows

(Using the Martha Stewart Vanilla Marshmallow recipe as a base)

Makes about 16

Ingredients:
Nonstick cooking spray
3 (1/4-ounce) packages unflavored gelatin
1/2 cup cold water
5 chai teabags
2 cups granulated sugar
2/3 cup light corn syrup
1/4 teaspoon coarse salt
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract, plus 1 vanilla bean, scraped
Confectioners' sugar, sifted, for coating

Directions:

My notes:  Before beginning, make a super concentrated chai tea to flavor the marshmallows.  To do this, steep teabags in boiling water for about 5 minutes then remove the teabags and set the tea in the refrigerator to cool.  When I made this, I had doubled the marshmallow recipe and tried using 15 bags of chai.  I think they turned out a bit too chai-y (there I go again making up words!) and so I think 5 teabags for one batch of marshmallows would be fine.

Here's what 15 bags of chai looks like together, by the way.

Extra super concentrated chai.  Mmmmm...yummers.

1.  Lightly spray a 9-by-9-inch baking pan with cooking spray. Line pan with plastic wrap, leaving a 2-inch overhang on all sides; set aside.

2.  In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, sprinkle gelatin over 1/2 cup cold water tea; let stand for 10 minutes. In a medium saucepan, combine sugar, corn syrup, and 1/4 cup water. Place saucepan over medium-high heat and bring to a boil; boil rapidly for 1 minute (238 degrees).

This is what the chai concentrate looks like with gelatin added.  I promise it gets better from here.

3.  Remove from heat, and, with the mixer on high, slowly pour the boiling syrup down the side of the mixer bowl into gelatin mixture. Add salt and continue mixing for 12 minutes.

4.  Add vanilla extract and vanilla bean seeds; mix until well combined. Spray a rubber spatula or your hands with cooking spray. Spread gelatin mixture evenly into pan using prepared spatula or your hands. Spray a sheet of plastic wrap with cooking spray and place, spray side down, on top of marshmallows. Let stand for 2 hours.

5.  Carefully remove marshmallows from pan. Remove all plastic wrap and discard. Cut marshmallows into 2-inch squares using a sprayed sharp knife. Place confectioners' sugar in a large bowl. Working in batches, add marshmallows to bowl and toss to coat. Marshmallows can be stored in an airtight container up to 3 days.

I am by no means a tidy cook (duh).

Both versions are excellent in dark sipping chocolate.  Coating the marshmallows in chocolate also proves to be quite tasty, but I've yet to really master this art yet.  More research is needed.

Anyway, if you've never made marshmallows before, I highly recommend it.  It's a lot of fun (and a bit messy) and the results are totally different than what you buy in the store.

The painting project from hell

This weekend I tackled a project I'd been putting off for several months: painting the bonus room.  I knew it was going to be a bitch and I was totally right (woohoo?).  The bonus room takes up most of the length of the house upstairs and to matters even more fun, it has a stairwell, three dormer windows, and some other strange corners to paint around.  Plus acres upon acres of unpainted, unfinished molding.

Before:

I started off several months ago by painting the windows and the baseboards.  Griz was very helpful:

So I taped down the carpet around allllllllllllll the molding, then primed and painted (2 coats).  UGH.

I chose the color Chinchilla by Martha Stewart for the walls and spent several hours on Saturday cutting in all the corners and edges.  Again...UGH.

I got an edging tool that screwed right on to an extension rod and was able to paint the edges around the ceiling on the stairwell wall.  Still not sure how to go about painting those weird little cut-out windows, but I'm sure I'll figure it out.

Annnnnnnnnnnnyway, after 6 HOURS of painting on Sunday, I finally finished.  There's a bit of touching up to do here and there and a strip of baseboard that I hadn't gotten to yet, but for the most part, it's DONE.  WHEW.

In some of the photos the color's reading a bit lavender-ish, but it's grey in person.  Promise.

Painting, Painting and More Painting

A few weeks ago, I painted the hallway bedroom which will eventually be a kid's room when we have one (and no, this whole post isn't an announcment of any sort, so don't get all excited there).  I've loved the idea of a navy blue room since I saw this David Netto-designed bedroom about a year or so ago:

I love the look of grasscloth wallpaper, but figured that wouldn't be the best bet for a kid's room, so I used the high gloss navy blue paint leftover from the upstairs bathroom makeover on three of the walls.  The fourth wall will eventually be the same cream that's in the living room.

I found a great mirror at HomeGoods last weekend that will eventually get hung between the windows and the cream wall will eventually have a gallery-style art arrangement.  Check out our home's color palette and you can see I'll also bring in pops of pumpkin and turquoise (sounds weird, but it's not--promise).

So there you have it.  Tomorrow I'll post pics of the massive painting project from this weekend.