Gone Weekending

Eating PopRocks...guilty as charged.

Not in trouble...SO happy!

The pup ate a bag of PopRocks yesterday. It was a hilarious sight! Wishing I had the video camera at the time.

So what's on the weekend agenda? Garage sales, warm weather + some storms, something sweet, bike rides, and hopefully some painting. What are you up to?

See ya Monday,

xo,

Lindsay

Chrome Lamps.

Pulling photos of chrome floor lamps from my inspiration files. Remember the lamp I won from The Sunday Times Market? I still haven't received it, but I'm considering what to pair it with nonetheless. Keep my current table lamps or perhaps something wall mounted? Mother's Day is just around the corner...I'm sure I could get my husband to wire it in for me, right, honey?

Gardens: April Snapshots

Top: Iris, Bleeding Hearts, No Clue, and Phlox.

Bottom: Greek Oregano, Chard- Lettuce-Leeks, Snap Peas, Strawberries Patch.

April's almost over, so it was time for backyard snapshots. That way I can compare next year. It seems we're a bit ahead this year weather wise, but I'll be waiting mid-May to June before setting out most of the heat loving seedlings. For now they enjoy their days in the cold frame and their nights indoors, where it's still nice and toasty!

Daydreaming.

I found this house for rent in the countryside closer to my husband's sales territory. Is it wrong to own a home and wish to rent? If/when we move from our current home, we will probably rent for a while. Whether we move to the countryside or out-of-state, we want to give ourselves a bit of "trial period" before we dive into anything too permanent. We're sort of hoping to find a landlord who will allow us to update/renovate a house for reduced rent. My husband is super handy and we enjoy that kind of thing. Ah, daydreaming.

Handmade.

Look what my 6 yr. old made me! She drew the figure, colored her, stitched on her button eyes, stuffed her, and sewed the bottom up. (I machine stitched the backing on, shhh, don't tell.) Isn't she the sweetest?

*Psst. There's two new prints added to the treasury sale section in the left column!

Bathroom Inspiration.

More inspiration for Mom's house. Requested: No sink cabinet.

Images via Domino (two upper) and Big Blue Photography (bottom).

Gone Weekending.

Can you imagine dying your own yarn? Image via Chatiry on Flickr.

I'm taking a knitting class tonight with Miss Sloe Gin Fizz. I haven't a clue what I'm doing, so it'll be interesting. The rest of the weekend will be spent carting stuff over to the garage sale and hopefully a bit of chill time while it rains. Hope you all have a very lovely weekend as well!

xo,

Lindsay

Busy Bee.

Sorry for the silence around here. I've been a busy little bee. I have a couple of commissions I'm working on and gardening to tend to...keeping the puppy from trampling new seedlings is a full time job! Also, my mother-in-law is having a garage sale in a couple weeks, so I'm running around purging unused goods like a madman. What have you been up to?

Image via Cybergirl5710 on Etsy.

Kitchen Inspiration.

Open kitchen, no upper cabinets. Filed under house inspiration for my mom.

All images via Desire to Inspire.

Best Ice Cream Ever.

We've been on a bit of an ice cream binge here lately. We made Chocolate Velvet, Mint Chocolate Chip, and our latest...I'm not sure what to call it...maybe you'll have an idea. Last October our neighbor knocked on our door, said he had to leave town unexpectedly, and asked us to hand out his Halloween candy. His bag of goodies contained a package of Take 5's(chocolate, pretzels, caramel, peanuts, & peanut butter). I don't frequent the candy aisle, so I had never heard of them. Agh! They were so good. And hence, the inspiration behind the ice cream. I prefer a rich custard style ice cream, so I used egg yolks, but if that weirds you out, just skip that part. Just expect a change in texture.

First, make a hot fudge sauce. I used this recipe. You only need about 1/3 of it, but I made the full batch and saved the rest for later. After you make the sauce, put it in the freezer to cool it quickly, so that it doesn't melt the ice cream when you add it later.

For the ice cream you'll need:

2 c. heavy cream

1 1/2 c. milk

2/3 c. sugar

2 egg yolks

2/3 c. melted peanut butter

2 tsp. vanilla

1/4 c. chopped pretzels

2 Take 5 candy bars

1/2 c. hot fudge sauce

First, melt your peanut butter. 20 seconds in the microwave makes it pourable. Mix peanut butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl. Add egg yolks and vanilla, blend with an electric mixer. Slowly add cream and milk, beating constantly with mixer until nice and frothy. Refrigerate mix. Toss pretzels and candy bars into a food processor, pulse a few times so that it's broken into 1/2 inch pieces, set aside. (You could just chop these with a knife, but 3 yr. olds really enjoy "pushing the button" so we went that route.) Add the cream mixture to your ice cream maker and let it freeze for about then minutes before adding candy bars/pretzels. Otherwise they'll all sink to the bottom. Finally, in the last few minutes of freezing, drizzle in your fudge sauce. If it's cooled it'll be nice and thick, and adding it in the final stages will ensure it stays in a ribbon throughout the ice cream, rather than being totally blended in. Remove contents and freeze in well sealed container until desired consistency. I usually leave ours in the ice cream maker for about 30 minutes, then it spends several hours in the freezer before it's nice and firm.

I've read you can make ice cream without an ice cream maker, by just putting all the ingredients in a bowl, freezing, and stirring periodically. I've never tried it, but it would probably work, perhaps the texture would be different? Our maker cost about $30 though, and it's seen a ton of use, so well worth the purchase. This is seriously the best ice cream I've ever eaten. All the sweetness combined with the little salt chunks on the pretzels...so good!

This and That.

{The girls on the beach at Lake Michigan last summer.}

I'm thinking about where we'll take our little camper this year. Before we bought one last summer I had no idea you had to make a reservation to go camping! Silly me, I suppose. Anyone in Michigan have suggestions? Off the beaten path beaches? Quaint little towns we should visit?

I'm expecting blades for our doggie clippers today. The time has come to give our pup her first trim. I'm sort of terrified I'll turn her into a clown, but figured I should learn. I really don't want to drop her off at a puppy salon. Besides, it'll grow back, right?

Also, the 3 yr. old and I have invented the best homemade ice cream flavor ever. Hint: it involves peanut butter. Stay tuned...

Covered Patio. { Imaginary }

Mid Century Patio Chairs

Geometric Pillow, Wood Table, Red Latern, Modernist Candleholder

Patterned Rug


Plant Pod, Paper Pinwheel, Bowling Set, Concrete Planter

Hello Monday! How are you?

It's been a while since I've shared some of my Etsy faves, so today I'm window shopping for my imaginary covered patio. We have a deck, which is uncovered, so we have to be a little picky about what we leave out there. All our cushions and pillows are stored away in Ikea zippered bags, throughout the winter and when there's rain. But, IF I had a covered patio, I'd go to town decorating it as another room. It would be the perfect spot for alfresco dinners, reading my favorite magazine, or sipping on lemonade. Do you have a covered porch? How do you use it? If someone says theirs doubles as a studio, I will die from jealousy, so be careful.

p.s. Love this DIY patio project via The Brick House.

All images sourced from the links above.

Gone Weekending.

Little Miss Sunshine { Print & Original now in shop.}

Hello gals! The weekend is almost here and I'm looking forward to it. We've had our share of rain and thunderstorms this week and I'm ready for sunshine. :) The good news is our lawn has greened up, our daffodils are blooming, and I have little seedlings popping up everywhere! It's time to bring in our first backyard bouquet of the season and officially welcome spring. What are you up to this weekend?

*Update: I now have an official Facebook Fan Page if you wish to keep up with me there. If you have sent a friend request to my personal account in the past, and I haven't replied, it's because I had this page in the works! Thanks for your patience. :)

xo,

Lindsay

Memories.

Do you ever get extremely nostalgic about your childhood? It happens to me ever so often, especially on days when I really grasp how quickly my own kids are growing up. What are your favorite memories? Mine are picking wildflower bouquets in the field behind our house, and bringing them in to our mom, still covered in ants or bees. We had a huge tree in front of our house with an old tire swing that we loved. Also we had firewood delivered every fall and our cousins would come in from the city and we would build forts and log cabins from it. Another favorite was the path that once existed from our house to my Grandparents. Now there is a driveway in its' place...but I remember my Grandad cutting away brush and keeping it mowed, so we'd have a direct path to their house. "Watch for snakes" my mom would always say and we headed towards their house. It's funny how we spend much of our childhood wishing to be older, only to grow up, and long for those days again. On that note, the blog posts may be sparse this week. My girl is on spring break and we're busy making memories...

Fine Art Print by Wifeoftherockstar.

Chocolate Velvet.

I used this recipe to make homemade Chocolate Velvet ice cream yesterday. I increased the cocoa to 1/2 cup, and added 1/2 cup toasted chopped pecans. It was super yummy! We have another beautiful day ahead of us. We plan to plant sunflower seeds, sow more snap peas, and go crazy with sidewalk chalk! I hope the sun is shining where you are. (2 days left to sign up for the Art Swap!)

Also, thanks to Going Home To Roost for featuring my Peace, Love, Hope Print in celebration of Earth Day!