Home Sweet Home

I'm home again... after one of the best weeks of my life.

It was full of fun and excitement and happiness and love. But now I miss my family a lot more. I was doing fine after months of being settled in with our own little life 3000 miles away... but I can't stay here forever. Not that we have plans to move or anything... I'm still determined to continue renovating this home and to fulfill all these visions I have for it. And for the record, I like Florida better than California, in almost every way. The weather, the lakes and forests, uncrowded white sand beaches with swimmable water, no traffic on Sundays, cost of living, abundant wildlife... and the gorgeous ever-changing skies most of all. But my heart is with my family, and my family is in California. We'll see what the future brings....

For now, it's back to reality here with plans for the house (low cost projects, as we're still working with a single income budget) and working on my business which has been keeping me so busy (yay!). I've got some big changes in the works right now that will be launched within the next week or two and I can't wait to share. Keeping my focus on the fun stuff is helping me get through this rough patch, and hopefully we'll come out the other end much better and stronger.

If you didn't get a chance to see this yet, check out my latest feature on IHeartOrganizing! Jen found a pic of my entryway and asked me to do a quick write-up of the transformation and I couldn't be more honored!


Trying to decide what to do for next weekends project... find and refinish a new dining table? Frame gallery wall? New dresser for the office? Repaint our bedroom dresser + night stands? Upholstered headboard for the bed? Curtains in the sun room? So much to do, so little time! Stay tuned to see what happens :)

Caramel Brownie Cheesecake | National Cheesecake Day!

My very first job was at The Daily Grind in Lexington.  It was sort of a gourmet coffee, bakery and cafe - homemade desserts, muffins, stuffed croissants, and handcrafted cappuccinos and lattes.   Pretty fancy for a small town!  At least, I thought so when I worked there in high school.

One of my weekly duties was to make the cheesecakes.  Now you must understand, that this was in the 90's right in the midst of the Cheesecake craze.  The Cheesecake Factory was just becoming the hot date spot amongst my friends (that had boyfriends who could drive...), the Jell-O Nobake Cheesecake was the most popular dessert at potlucks... cheesecake was the dessert.

When I learned how to make this Cheesecake, this Caramel Brownie Cheesecake, I remember thinking that it was a really big deal. It was something special.

Somewhere along the way, Cheesecake had lost its status in my recipe repertoire.  It had fallen victim to cupcakes, tiramisu, molten cakes, and gourmet brownies.  Maybe it was the countless pieces I would eat during my days at The Daily Grind?  Maybe the Jell-O Nobake "Cheesecake" had ruined my taste for a real cheesecake?

A couple of months ago, we ordered a dessert platter that featured a slice of cheesecake among 3 other desserts.  As the table passed the tray and sampled each slice, everyone would say, "Oh the cheesecake is amazing."  I agreed.  I had forgotten how good a real piece of cheesecake could be.

So, in honor of National Cheesecake Day, I prepared the infamous cake of cheese that started it all for me, The Daily Grind's Caramel Brownie Cheesecake.

Caramel Brownie Cheesecake
serves 12

Crust :
12 graham crackers
6 tablespoons of butter

Filling :
2 cups of leftover brownie crumbles
1/3 cup of caramel sauce

4 blocks of 8oz cream cheese, room temperature
1 1/2 cup of sugar
4 eggs
1/4 cup of sour cream
1 1/2 tablespoons of vanilla

Prepare the crust by breaking the graham crackers into crumbs by hand or in a food processor.  Melt butter and stir into graham crumbles with a fork.  Pack the mixture into a springform pan packing half way up the sides.  Bake at 350 degrees for 8 minutes.

For the filling, in a mixer, whip together cream cheese and sugar.  Add eggs, sour cream and vanilla.

Crumble the brownies into the cooked crust, then drizzle with the caramel sauce.  Pour cream cheese filling over the brownies and caramel.

Bake at 450 for 20 minutes, then lower oven to 250 and bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes.  Allow to sit at room temperature for 1-2 hours, then wrap and refrigerate for 4 hours - overnight.

Pour in graham cracker and butter mixture.

I use a glass to pack the bottom and the sides.  A measuring cup also works great.  Whatever you have around!

 For my "Brownie Leftovers" I used leftover Chocolate Sheet Cake baked in a Pie Dish from earlier this week.  Yay!  I didn't eat the entire thing!

Crumble the brownie/cake with fork, then put it into the crust.  I like big, chunky pieces of brownie/cake in the cheesecake.

Pour in the caramel sauce...

Resist eating it from the pan...

 Pour in cheesecake mixture.  The pan will be pretty full.  I like to bake it on a baking sheet in case it over flows.



Welcome back, cheesecake.  I've missed you.

Bathroom Redo | Pinterest Challenge | Inspiration for adding storage to a Small Bathroom

This week I joined the Pinterest Challenge started by Emily Henderson from Secrets from a Stylist (HGTV), Sherry and John from YoungHouseLove.com, Joey and Lana from JoeyandLana.com, and Katie and Jeremy from BowerPowerBlog.com.  The challenge?  Actually accomplish something you "Pinned" on Pinterest.  This was just the motivation I needed to tackle our upstairs tini-tiny bathroom.

My Pinterest inspiration (originally pinned by Better Homes & Gardens) was a small cabinet used to hold bathroom goodies.  It made me rethink my options for typical bathroom storage.

We desperately needed storage in this bathroom.  We had nothing but a very old (read : gross...) medicine cabinet over the sink.  We needed room to store our "stuff" - towels, toiletries, extra toilet paper, cotton balls, etc.  I re-purposed this cabinet that used to hold the TV (you may remember it from our Living Room...).   Each of the three bins has specific contents.  One holds "His Stuff," one holds "Her Stuff," and one holds more of "Her Stuff."

The white towels are wedding presents purchased from Restoration Hardware - they are so soft, highly recommended.  The bathmat is from Target.  The canvas bins are from Target (you may remember larger versions used in my workshop/office/utility storage).  The wooden box is from Target.  The vintage Mason jars are from my Grandma's collection (that I now own).

The ONLY thing I purchased for this project is the white molding shelf - from Home Depot, $16.

BEFORE

Since I was on a strict budget for this bathroom ($16!), I had to use materials that I already owned.  Fortunately, I had a lot of boxes in our basement full of goodies leftover from our old house that didn't have a home at the new house yet.


The mirror, driftwood shelf and box (in the mirror's reflection) are all matching wood pieces from Target.  Using all three elements helped me to achieve a cohesive look in the bathroom... with items/materials that wouldn't typically be used in a bathroom.  The mirror is a frame that I spray painted gold and then put a brown glaze over it to create a sophisticated look.  I love botanical prints and these ferns are a great choice for a bathroom and complements our green walls.

The shower stall in this bathroom is very unattractive.  A simple window curtain (63") on a rod covers this eye sore and adds a fresh white element to the bathroom.

Thanks to the Pinterest Challenge team for inspiring me to actually get something done - I'm so glad to have a comfy bathroom!

Chocolate Sheet Cake in a Pie Dish | Warm Chocolate Icing Recipe

This is what the cake looked like after I took 2-3 photos... couldn't resist

Everyone's heard of Texas Sheet Cake, right?  If you haven't heard the name, you've had it at countless potlucks and family dinners, I'm sure.  It is a very moist chocolate cake topped with a generous portion of chocolate frosting poured on while the cake is still hot.  A lesser informed person might even think it was a frosted brownie.

This is what I call an 'eating' cake.  She's not a looker, but oh is she good!  
I love it so much, I could eat an entire Texas-sized pan full of it, so I decided to half the recipe so I would have a more manageable portion tempting me all week.   I baked it in a pie dish to make it a little dressier than a brownie/sheet cake.  You may have noticed that I like to use pretty pie dishes instead of square bakeware any chance I get... and sometimes I don't use a pie dish when I bake pies, ala peach crostata... I know, what a rebel!

The icing on this cake is really the star of the show.  It is almost like liquid fudge, poured on a warm cake, then the top hardens into a crust.  I can remember when my Mom would make this (sheet cake version) and we would run our fingers around the edge of the icing as the cake was cooling - the icing would melt over where we had stolen our swipes.  See, I told you this cake is perfect.

Chocolate Cake : 

1 cup flour 
1 cup sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 stick butter
2 tablespoons cocoa
1/2 cup boiling water
1/4 cup buttermilk
1 whole beaten eggs
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Chocolate Icing : 

1 stick butter
2  tablespoons cocoa
3 tablespoons milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
3-4 cups powdered sugar (desired consistency)


For the cake, begin by combining flour sugar and salt in the bowl of your KitchenAid.  Then, in a saucepan, melt 1 stick of butter.  Add 2 tablespoons of cocoa, stir, add boiling  and cook for 30 seconds.  Remove from heat.  Pour the chocolate mixture into the dry ingredients.  Add buttermilk, eggs, soda and vanilla and gently stir together until combined.  Do not over beat.


Pour into a round pie dish.  Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes, until cake tester comes out almost clean.  I like to under bake this cake to make sure it is nice and moist. 


While the cake is baking, prepare the icing.  In a saucepan, melt 1 stick of butter.  Remove from heat and add cocoa.  Stir in milk vanilla and powdered sugar.  Start with 3 cups of powdered sugar, then add more if you'd like it to be thicker.  Pour icing over warm cake and spread out.  Let it cool slightly before serving... if you can wait that long.

Kinfolk Magazine | Jenny Steffens Hobick is proud to be a part of Kinfolk Magazine!

A couple of months ago, I was approached by Nathan Williams and asked if I would contribute to a collaboration celebrating small gatherings and intimate entertaining.  The collaboration, an online and print magazine, would be called Kinfolk.  I took one glance at their website, kinfolkmag.com, and sent back an immediate - yes!

The design of the site was so beautiful, clean, sophisticated, and cozy.  With such a design aesthetic, I knew I would want to be a part of anything Nathan and the Kinfolk team produced.

The online magazine and print edition came out this month - and let me tell you - it is a beauty.  The photography is stunning.  The layout is modern, clean and unobtrusive.  The articles are insightful.  I'm so honored to be a part of something so... well, Great.

I was asked to contribute three articles : 1) Entertaining Q&A   2) Personal Perspective on Entertaining   3) After Dinner Ideas for Entertaining

Entertaining Q&A Excerpt...
(to read the entire article, visit the online version of the entire magazine at http://www.kinfolkmag.com/magazine/)

How can someone put together a great dinner or evening with friends on a budget?

"I like to have one show-stopper on the menu, maybe truffle butter, sea scallops, or great heirloom tomatoes.  If you make one thing shine, you can make everything else very simple.  Try to figure out what your guests will rave about on the way home and invest in that to be the star of your party"

Aren't the images stunning?  This photo was taken by Tim Robinson.

My personal entertaining philosophy is featured on this page.

"Entertaining at its best is done often, with an effortless and easy style..."
(to read the rest, visit the online version of the entire magazine at http://www.kinfolkmag.com/magazine/)

You're hosting a party, dinner is over, but the night is just beginning... what do you do now?


Read about my ideas for entertaining your guests after you've entertained!
(to read the entire article, visit the online version of the entire magazine at http://www.kinfolkmag.com/magazine/)

Here are some of the other articles that struck my fancy...

Did you know we use cloth napkins for every meal at my house?  I'm not insane and it is not an effort to be stuffy.  They aren't ironed or fancy, they are just casual cotton napkins.  I happen to have stacks and stacks of cloth napkins from my catering days.  Once we started using them all of the time, I couldn't go back to paper!

The colors are perfect.

I dream of intimate little dinners like this one.

I love that there is a Thoreau quote - our new house is within walking distance to Walden Pond.  

To Nathan and all of the Kinfolk contributors - Congratulations - she's beautiful!

Eggplant Recipes | Eggplant Focaccia Bread | Summer Farmer's Market Dinner Party

 Eggplant Focaccia Bread
 part of my Farmer's Market Themed Menu



Eggplant is one of those vegetables that I'm always swooning over at the Farmer's Markets, but never know quite what to do with it.  In the past, I have used it in a Roasted Vegetable Orzo Pasta Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette, or breaded and fried it as Eggplant Parmesan.  Eggplant doesn't have a ton of flavor, but is great at picking up the flavors added to it - just be sure to add plenty of strong flavor with seasoning and herbs.

Making focaccia might sound a little daunting, but it is really one of the easiest things to do... especially when you use store-bought pizza dough.  Pre-made (and pre-baked) pizza dough is one of my favorite shortcuts (remember my Pizza Party for Grown-ups Party Menu?).  I buy it directly from a local pizzaria for about $2 each, or you can find it at most grocery stores in the deli section.

This focaccia is a beautiful addition to any table - it is visually impressive to serve AND it gives you an excuse to buy those stunning eggplants you see at the market.

 Eggplant Focaccia Bread
 part of my Farmer's Market Themed Menu

1 recipe of pizza dough
2 tablespoons of olive oil
..........
1/4 cup of olive oil
4 cloves of garlic, minced
2 tablespoons of fresh thyme
2 tablespoons of rosemary
2 teaspoons of salt
1/2 teaspoon of red pepper flakes1 small/medium eggplant
1/2 cup of parmesan cheese, grated


On a baking sheet or in a casserole dish, drizzle 2 tablespoons of olive oil.  Place dough into baking sheet/casserole dish and shape it into a rectangle, keeping it about 1/2-3/4 inch thick.

For sauce, in a microwave safe bowl mix together 1/4 cup olive oil, minced garlic, 1 tablespoon thyme, 1 tablespoon rosemary, 1 teaspoon of salt, and 1/2 teaspoon of red pepper flakes.  Heat in the microwave for 30 seconds.  Spoon half of the mixture onto the dough, spread out.

Cut eggplant into thin slices and place onto the oiled dough.  Drizzle the remaining oil mixture over the eggplant.  Sprinkle cheese and remaining thyme, rosemary and salt over.

Bake at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes, depending on thickness and size of the focaccia. 

Farm to Table Dinner Party Series : 
Farmer's Market Themed Menu

 The Eggplant Focaccia Bread is part of my Farm to Table Dinner Party Menu & Farmer's Market Table Setting.  To see the entire menu & table setting, click here.

Heirloom Tomatoes with Green Goddess Dressing
Eggplant Focaccia Bread
Corn on the Cob with Basil Butter
Classic Cucumbers & Onions
Lemon & Chive Halibut in Parchment Bundles
Peach Crostada with Vanilla Ice Cream

The New Old Bed

I didn't find any good daybed solutions in Maine but on the way back I stopped at the Cambridge Antique Market to pick up a little mirror that's been on my mind since my last visit.

And there it was.

Not exactly a daybed but an antique spool bed.

The headboard and footboard are fairly close in height and it's a twin size so I can use a standard mattress.  It's almost a daybed.  It's painted a color that almost makes it look like natural wood.  The original paint underneath is almost the same color as the walls.

Spool beds were first introduced about 1840.  I thought the fact that it was a twin size made it a newer piece but it turns out that twin beds became the rage in the 1890s.  They were sold as a sanitary solution to couples sleeping side by side.  You can read more about the fascinating history of twin beds at the Edwardian Promendade blog.

Apparently they're still desirable.  A twin bed at Garnet Hill is $3,368.

This spool bed at Newell Antiques in New York is listed at $950

Mine?  $110.

I'm not sure if I'm going to paint it or not.  It might just need a glaze to tweak the color a little bit.  I'm proceeding with caution so, for now, it needs a good cootie cleansing.

The past week's hot temperatures were brutal on the garden, particularly the hydrangea.

Update:  Since so many people have mentioned them, the pillow covers came from etsy seller PopOColor found here.  She does really nice work.  She's one of the only people I've found on etsy that tapers the corners of the covers so they don't dog ear.  But don't be gettin' my pillows.  Get your own!

I thought I'd bring a few inside to enjoy the air conditioning.

We all enjoy having a few flowers in the house.  If you do too, you're invited to Jane's flower party.

Stay cool!

Extreme Antiquing

Ever since I saw Artie's post on daybeds, it got me thinking.  My middle bedroom has always been one of those rooms you leave off the home tour.   I'll bet a lot of you have one too.  I've been thinking I should change that.  I've always called the room my "studio" but I haven't done any painting or used the large desk I set up since I moved into the house.  It's really a wasted room.  

When my mom and sister-in-law visited, I slept on the floor in the dining room.  

Of course, the cats thought the bed was for them.

If I had a daybed in this middle bedroom, the room could be another dual-duty room.  It could be a second guest room or a private den for a guest since it's attached to the other bedrooms.  A guest den.  Since the upstairs is always warmer than downstairs, this also might be a place I hang out in the winter.  A winter lounge.

It might seem odd that these three bedrooms are all connected but if you've been following for a while, you'll remember that my house was a two-family about the turn of the century.  (1900, not 2000)  The front door to the upstairs apartment was the door to the guest room (seen in the distance).  The master bedroom we're standing in was the kitchen.  Eventually I'll add a door to the middle bedroom from a hallway (where the rag rug runner is) but I'm having a hard time with the idea of closing up all the rooms.  I really enjoy the openness of the space.

On Thursday I thought I'd escape the heat of the city and head up to Maine to see if I could find a daybed for my new den.  I pulled over on Memorial Drive in Cambridge so you could see the hazy view of Boston across the Charles River.  During the 1600s, the marshes along the banks of the Charles were plentiful oyster beds.  During the Revolutionary War, George Washington's fort not far from this spot provided protection from the British.

Today, these banks provide spectacular views of the Boston skyline.  The gold-domed State House sits at the top of Beacon Hill.  I wonder if it's cooler in those sailboats?

I've driven by this spot hundreds, perhaps, thousands of times and I'd never noticed this intricate wrought iron work on the MIT Sailing Pavilion.  How cool is that?

But let's hit the road.

It was 97 degrees outside Withington Antiques in York.  Withington's antiques are usually a little too fancy for my humble house but it's always nice to poke around.  I was expecting the store to be a respite from the heat but I was wrong.  The heat slapped me across the face when I walked in the door.  The place was like an oven, at least 120 degrees inside.  No joke.

This isn't going to be a leisurely shopping day.  This is EXTREME ANTIQUING. 

I love these old signs but they've all gotten so expensive. 

I nice collection of mercury glass.  I'm not sure if I like it or not but it's pretty to look at.

You could cook an egg on this table.

I buzzed up to Snug Harbor Farm...

...to pick up a perfectly aged terracotta pot for one of my topiaries.

I want some hydrangea for the front and along the side of the house.  I like these.

And, as always, I had to check out the topiaries.  Notice the yellow-green ones in front and big red ones in back are coleus.  Did you know you can make a topiary out of coleus?

I also stopped by Corey Daniels Gallery to see Tim Wilson's show. 

I really like his work.  And it's perfectly framed in vintage chippy molding.

Don't they feel like the have a history?

But on to the next steamy place to find something for my new guest den.

Check out these turquioise Chinese pots.  They remind of the ones in Joan's bedroom.  Sorry.  Not telling where they are.  I might have to go back and get them.  I like the blue and white ones in the back too.

I've found a few good anchor pieces for my new guest room/lounge so I'm going to whimp out and head back to Boston in the comfort of my car.