habits

I am not a tidy person, I have many bad habits that contribute to this. I recently decided I am going to take my bad habits one by one and try to conquer them and then move onto the next. The first bad habit was the dishes, keeping dishes in the dishwasher rather than letting them pile up in the sink. I feel fairly confident that we (my husband and I) have now turned this into a habit and thus we are moving onto the next- making the bed. I hope this is the first small step toward me being able to keep the bedroom clean, I'll cross my fingers. Should we discover that the dishes have in fact not yet become a true habit we will go back to them until they are truly conquered. But I think they are. Here's to making bad habits good.

dinner tonight

Tonight I will be trying out the Pesto Pizza from My Kitchen Cafe. It sounds so good.
In other cooking news, I tried to make Dulce de Leche last night (essentially Argentine caramel) and it was a fantastic disaster. I will be trying a different method (and maybe easier?) boiling sweet and condensed milk in a bowl over boiling water for several hours. Hopefully this will meet with more success!

cabin inspiration

My family owns a cabin in the mountains and we are planning to rebuild it in the next couple of years or so. While we were in Yellowstone my Mom saw this Lodge and we decided we like the style of it. It kind of seems like a summer camp almost. Anyway, this is the start of the cabin inspiration posts.

I love the combination of the rocks, wood and the smaller windows.

designer bedroom designs

My bedroom needs some detail work done. Mostly in the way of my bed. And organization. I found these designer bedrooms on House Beautiful and pulled out the ones that caught my eye.

For the most part the bed spreads I found were really simple with more elaborate pillows or more elaborate bedspreads with simple pillows. I liked that this one was not only blue and white but broke that "rule."

I liked this one because of the quilt, I have a similar quilt on my bed (it is red and white) I wonder if I should try folding it like this. I would make bed making more simple, always a plus.

Another simple bed spread with a patterned pillow, I liked that this one threw in color in the blanket and the back pillows.

What really caught my eye in this room was the circle frames above the bed.


I liked the different types of pillows on this bed.

So here are my bedding questions, exposed sheets or not? Simple pillows vs. patterned and colorful pillows and only square pillows vs. variety? What do you think?

birthday cake recap

I never did a recap on how my husband's birthday cake turned out. It was my first non-disaster cake, the freezing of the cake layers before frosting was a great tip, so thank you! I am going to try another chocolate cake this weekend for my Argentine feast, I am going to try and make Dulce de Leche for a filling. Wish me luck!

abstract

There is just something about this painting by studio550 that I love. Possibly the color.

argentine feast

This weekend I think I am going to have an Argentine feast! Lomito sandwiches which consist of, thin slices of steak, crusty bread, mayonnaise, lettuce, tomato, provolone cheese and chimichurri sauce (my brother uses a recipe similar to this but adds chopped tomatoes and red peppers). I think I will also make some chicken empanadas. Mmmmm. I can't wait.

photo via flickr

travel tuesday: buenos aires

Teatro Colon is Argentina's premiere opera house


recoleta cemetery is famous for the elaborate structures and include Eva Peron's (Evita) grave.

parque tres de febrero is a 62 acre park known for rose gardens as well as lakes with paddle boats

Caminito a street in the colorful La Boca neighborhood

Botanical Gardens

easy ice cream

photo via flickr

My sister-in-law introduced me to bag ice cream over the weekend. You mix the ingredients together in a zip-lock bag (including any flavoring you may want to add, I did mint chocolate chip), then you put that bag inside of a gallon sized zip-lock bag filled with ice and rock salt and shake it for about 20 minutes. We had fun, although our hands got cold.

Each person gets:
1 small plastic bag
1 large plastic bag
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup cream
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
1 plastic spoon
1/2 to 3/4 of a cup of rock salt
3/4 cup of crushed ice

Directions

1. Place 1/4 cup sugar into the small bag.
2. Add the 1/2 cup of milk.
   
3. Add enough creamer (1/2 cup) to the milk to bring the total volume to 1 cup.
4. Add approximately 1/4 teaspoon of vanilla to the milk/creamer mixture.
5. Close the bag securely.
6. Place the smaller plastic bag inside the larger bag.
7. Surround the smaller bag with several cups of crushed ice.
8. Pour 1/2 to 3/4 of a cup of salt over the ice and seal the larger bag securely.
9. Knead or roll back and forth on a table or desk top (we shook ours).
   
10. After 10 minutes check the mixture to see if it is frozen. If not, continue kneading.
11. When the mixture is frozen, simply remove the smaller bag and eat the ice cream directly from the bag.
    

recipe found here

I remembered seeing these at Bed, Bath and Beyond, you put the mixture in one side of the ball and the ice and salt in the other and kick it or throw it around. Sounds like fun for a picnic. Plus, your hands won't get cold!

scarf

I feel like I need more scarves with punch to them. I love this polka dot scarf from Boden.

flattering

I loved this article I found via Yahoo! from Real Simple on the four universally flattering colors.

hoisin honey ribs

My sister will be trying out this recipe for Hoisin Honey Ribs via My Kitchen Cafe via Smitten Kitchen this week. I have a friend who swears by My Kitchen Cafe recipes, this will be the first for me. I am excited to see how it turns out.

bobbsey twins

Did anyone else read the Bobbsey Twin books when they were younger? I don't remember a lot of the details but I do remember loving them. I want to get some copies for my library. Ebay has what looks to be an abundant supply of the vintage books.

going, going, gone!

Heading west tonight, I am very excited. Scheduled posts all next week.

cookbooks by color

Oh to have enough cookbooks to be able to organize them by color. I could justify organizing my cookbooks by color, never my reading books.
found via elements of style

Gourmet Cookbook could be a good place to start...

brown bagging it

While we are talking about back to school check out these fancy lunch bags. I am partial to the His and Hers.

I actually hate bologna. Does anyone like it?

back to school

I am headed back to school in a few weeks. Kind of scary considering I haven't really done much to prepare. I will have to go find my backpack in the basement. Then again I wonder if I am too old for this backpack? Back to school shopping anyone?

brownie pops

Love this brownie pop mold from Sur La Table, it would certainly make shaping brownie pops (not that I have ever made brownie pops) easier.

I also love this pie plate, it makes for a very pretty pie crust.

travel tuesday: lake hebgen and west yellowstone

Next week I will be spending most of my time in this area. Somewhere between Wyoming, Idaho and Montana, near West Yellowstone and Lake Hebgen, neither of which I have ever been to.

I am not sure what exactly this is but it is in West Yellowstone and it looks pretty cool.

This is Lake Hebgen, mountains and a lake. I am pretty sure most of my family is going to be in heaven.

Sunsets over Hebgen

All I really hope for is not to run into any wolves.

Needless to say I am getting excited (with the exception of the thought of seeing bears and wolves, I am a pansy when it comes to wild animals.) We will also be making stops here and here. Three cheers for the Wild West!

in other news...

I love this bracelet from anthropologie.

dear kristen:

Today seems to be entertainment day, but seriously, what happened to your hair Kristen?

time traveler's wife

I haven't read the book but I have heard it is good. I am a sucker for previews and the previews for this movie look awesome. I really want to see it.

photo found here

what makes me happy

Today it is my Queen Elizabeth stamp necklace. My Dad has a fairly large stamp collection and he let me go through and pick out stamps to make into necklaces. I choose a red version of this stamp. I love it, it makes my day just that much better.

birthstone necklace

I have had a couple of friends who have been looking for ways to incorporate their children's birthstones into a necklace. I saw this necklace on Etsy today and it is one the best birthstone necklaces that I have seen.

reading list

The Bostonians by Henry James
I got this one at Barnes and Noble. I have read part of Turn of the Screw but don't remember it that well. The back cover got me. I read the first chapter last night and so far so good.

A good friend recommended these two novels by Curtis Sittenfeld, a new favorite author of hers.
Prep and American Wife, which is supposedly based loosely on Laura Bush.

22 home tours

Today I have been perusing Martha's 22 home tours. This was one of my favorites. I especially love the wood floors.