Perfectly Posh

Friday we enjoyed a lovely day in Chicago, admittedly my favorite big city. Dropping Maddie off at Northwester for lacrosse camp, gave us the perfect excuse to hang out in the city for the day.


The highlight for Emma was The American Girl store, but for me it was finally getting to visit Posh Chicago. I've admired their website for some time, but there is just no substitute for being there.

The store was filled with beautiful and unique things for the home, several of which came back with me.

The displays were gorgeous, the staff helpful but not pushy and the prices very reasonable.

The store is my idea of perfection, the kind of store I would someday like to own. Wall to wall, floor to ceiling unique displays of merchandise that you just have to own. My favorite part was the back of the store seen in the last 2 pictures. Floor to ceiling windows, light and coziness. I wanted to curl up there with a book and spend the afternoon.

If you get the chance to visit, take it! You will be glad you did. And when you are all done, stop by Epoch Pie next door, where I highly recommend the lemon meringue. Wish you all could have enjoyed it with me.

The (not so) Perfect Dessert

I like things just so. Maybe I've spent too many years listening to Martha talk about how to make and do the perfect everything. Yesterday, as I tried to remove my Blueberry Lemon Bundt Cake from it's pan to cool before our guests arrived for dinner, I watched in horror as it fell apart. My first instinct was to cry, my first thought, that the evening was ruined. I stopped myself and decided to choose imperfection. It's real. I realized that I would enjoy entertaining a lot more if I would just relax. When I go to someones house I'm just happy to be there with them enjoying a meal that I didn't have to prepare. I'm sure my friends feel the same way and if they don't, then I suppose they are not really the kind of friends I want.

So here's my lesson for the week, when life gives you crumbled Blueberry Lemon Bundt Cake make Crumbled Blueberry Lemon Bundt Cake Trifle. And stop whining because life can be messy, but it's what happens while you are looking for perfection.

Crumbled Blueberry Lemon Bundt Cake Trifle

1 prepared Blueberry Lemon Bundt Cake or other recipe for a cake that you have screwed up

Fresh lemon whipped cream (recipe follows)

Fresh blueberries

Fresh Lemon Whipped Cream

1 cup heavy cream, chilled

3 tablespoons sugar

1/2 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

zest from 1 lemon

Cut disaster cake into bite size cubes and place in a pretty goblet, top with a healthy dollop of lemon whipped cream and then add fresh blueberries. Repeat. Fix yourself a refreshing drink, sit down and enjoy your company.

And by the way, it turns out that disaster can actually be yummy. Who knew?

I Never Promised You an Herb Garden

This is my herb garden, contained in an old galvanized tub and sitting right outside my kitchen door. It started last year with a basil plant inconveniently located on the side of the house. I was instantly hooked. This year I've expanded and planted oregano, thyme, rosemary, chives and parsley as well. I find myself planning menus around what herbs I can use. It makes me happy.

The yellow ball belongs to Millie. It is her most prized possession. She wanted you to see how pretty it is, so right before I snapped this picture, she brought it over and quite deliberately put it right there. She knew you would appreciate it's beauty.

The Week in Review

Hello? Summer relaxation, where are you? We just returned from a wonderful visit to North Carolina but are already getting ready to leave for Chicago on Friday and then Ohio next Thursday. Now you see why there isn't a lot of time for me to blog these days!

NC was wonderful. I just love the south y'all. I lived in Memphis from the time I was 15 til I was 30, what I call my formative years and so the south is just a part of me. I really get to missin' it & it's so nice to go back occasionally and hear that lovely drawl! Plus they have good garage sales too as you can see from the above picture of my new $2 vintage globe & $1 hand carved personality filled puppy. I think Emma and I might be fightin' over who gets custody of that little guy.

We spent time boating on the lake, going to the Farmer's Market, swimming, laughing, eating, playing, snuggling and celebrating the 4th birthday of my little cutie pie niece. Seriously, could you just eat her up? And let me tell you, she has a personality to match that mischievous look.

Sweet Hubby is one of 4 boys and I just love watching him interact with his brothers. Bonding. There is nothing like it. Sometimes they are working together like in this picture, but just as often they are picking on each other and pushing each other around. So for all of you moms raising boys, I hate to burst your bubble but the way they behave towards each other now is pretty much the way it will always be. We wrapped up our trip by stopping in Knoxville to have a lovely brunch with my Mom and headed home exhausted but happy to have had the chance to spend time with people we love.

By the way, one of the things we did during our visit was go to a church pot luck dinner where one of the dishes I ate was a warm potato dish that had chunks of potatoes, cheese and bacon with a warm sour cream based sauce on it. I'm dying to eat it again. Do any of y'all have a recipe for something similar?

Summer Reading List

We're headed to North Carolina tomorrow and I'm looking forward to time to read in the car. I have a monster stack of magazines to work my way through and we'll see how many of these books I get around to. I'll give you my recommendations as I read them but until then let me recommend these 2 books that I recently bought and love.


Cupcakes by Elinor Klivans: I've tried several of these recipes and have been very pleased, plus just looking at pictures of cupcakes automatically makes you happier.

The Only Bakesale Cookbook You'll Ever Need by Laurie Goldrich Wolf and Pam Abrams: I just made the toffee bars from this cookbook yesterday and they were de-lish! Five ingredients and you are on your way to heaven. My life would be so much easier if I didn't love to bake so much.

One Man's Trash & Celebrating Dad

Isn't it amazing that what some people don't consider fit to be in their homes, other people find to be the most amazing of treasures? I found this at one of my favorite antique stores, $3. I know most of you wouldn't take it for free. Clearly, I'm not most people. I think I will use it to hold supplies in the studio. I love the color and find myself buying things by color lately. Do you do that too? I'll have to have a blue day soon and show you some of the things I've been buying.


So really truly, aren't Daddy's the greatest? I miss mine terribly even though he's been gone for almost 10 years. I can't believe that actually. Wow. I'm so grateful though that Maddie and Emma have been graced with the best version of a Daddy that I've seen anywhere. He built this for Emma a few weeks ago (with a little help from one of the other best Daddy's I know. Thanks Chris!). She is loving it. But not content to just be your average Daddy, he agreed to camp in it with the little princess.

They ran electricity out there and watched a movie and made the space all cozy and just right for snuggling. It turned out to be a chilly night and even though Emma tried to sneak out in the wee hours to cuddle up in bed with Mommy, they made it and I am sure it will be one of her best childhood memories.

I hope you're blessed to have a Daddy like this for your kids and for those of you that still have your Daddy around, hug him tight on Father's Day for those of us who can't.

Keeping it Simple

Am I the only one feeling a pull towards a more pared down, simple life right now? If anything good can come from all of the uncertainty in the economy & by extension, our lives right now, I believe this is it. We are seeing so much devastation around us, natural disasters, people losing their jobs and their homes. It is affecting me. I think more and more about what's important in my life & find myself just wanting to huddle at home with my family and thank God for the many blessings in my life. I'm happy to have a roof over my head & that we are able to pay our bills and put food on the table. I'm happiest sitting in this corner reading, playing games with my family, watching movies and sitting on the patio listening to children play. Simplifying my home and my life gives me a sense of peace. I'm going to take this summer to really appeciate the little things and wanted to let you know that I might not be around as regularly, but know that I'll be thinking of you. I hope you all take some time to enjoy your own simple things.

The Backyardigans

Summer. How did that happen? School is out and we will be spending more time outside. More alfresco meals, more time spent sitting and talking, more time entertaining. Don't these inspiration pictures make you feel cool and relaxed?

We are having a cookout Sunday, which promises to be a miserably hot day, as it turns out, and I'm trying to plan my menu. For some reason I'm having a hard time deciding what to serve- I'm leaning towards a smoked pork shoulder, cole slaw, potato salad, baked macaroni and cheese, fresh corn salad, watermelon and lemon cake. It got me wondering, what is your favorite warm weather menu?
Can I just say that you guys are the greatest? Thank you all so much for your help and suggestions yesterday. I spent most of the day running all over (Bed, Bath and Beyond, Pottery Barn, Restoration Hardware, Calico Corners, Crate and Barrel) with no luck and ended up feeling more frustrated than before. Then low and behold, I check my email this morning and there is a message from The Company Store offering free shipping and I thought I'd check and see if they had anything and whaddayaknow? Why they have 100% camel colored linen panels for not much more than it would cost me to make them! I'll be ordering them later today and breathing a big 'ol sigh of relief that I don't need to worry about that anymore.

photos: Country Home, The Linen Works, Unknown

Curtain Call

Wednesday? Really? How'd that happen? I've been so busy volunteering at school these last 2 weeks that I'm not getting a lot else accomplished. I'm trying hard to get work done on the dining room but between the lack of time and the fact that Joann Fabrics had the very nerve to discontinue the medium brown linen fabric that I want to use for the curtains & I'm left with my head just spinning. So, I'm looking at the above khaki curtains from Pottery Barn and the brown silk below from Country Curtains but I'm still left mourning for my brown linen. I hope I'll be able to move on soon.

In other news, the sun has finally poked it's shiny little head out today. I think my neighborhood might float away if we get much more rain. Tomorrow is the last the day of school for my kids. I know they are so excited. I am too. Mostly.

So, I'd love to hear any recommendations for reasonably priced 96" curtains besides Overstock, PB, Country Curtains, Target, LNT and JCPenney. In the meantime I guess I'll be hitting some other fabric stores hunting for just the right shade of brown linen. Think they'll take my Joann's coupon?

Recipe of the Week- Toffee Sauce

Not long ago I watched Sweet Hubby devour an enormous bowl of ice cream covered with toffee sauce & I made an amazing discovery. He was having this treat in the middle of the afternoon, after a day spent grazing on whatever he wanted and he felt no guilt. No. Guilt. I'm sure about this because I asked him.

Me- Don't you feel guilty for eating that giant bowl of ice cream after the way you've eaten today?

Sweet Hubby- I don't understand what you're saying.

Me-Do you ever stop to consider what you are putting in your mouth and feel guilty about it?

Sweet Hubby- Why would I feel guilty?

Me- Because you never exercise and you don't eat a healthy diet.

Sweet Hubby- So?

Me- It's just not fair. I work out, eat fairly healthy and I don't take a single bite of food without considering it and usually feeling guilty.

Sweet Hubby- Really? Every bite? Why don't you stop doing that?

Me- I don't understand what you are saying.

So it occurs to me that there should be a happy medium here, although, I readily admit that his way is healthier emotionally. This conversation made me think. Am I unusual? Why can't I just enjoy my food without a side of guilt? I really want to change this although, I have no idea how.

In honor of trying, here's my recipe for toffee sauce so that you can also enjoy my favorite guilty pleasure.

Nigella Lawson's Toffee Sauce
3/4 cup plus 1 tbsp dark brown sugar
2 tbsp dark corn syrup
3/4 stick unsalted butter
2/3 cup heavy cream

Put the sugar, syrup and butter in a pan and slowly bring to a boil, allowing the butter to melt and the sugar to dissolve. Let the mixture bubble for a couple of minutes before carefully & slowly adding the cream. Cook for another 2 to 3 minutes or until the sauce is thick, sticky and glossy. Serve with a couple of scoops of vanilla ice cream.

Notes: I have made it using light brown sugar and light corn syrup although I prefer to have at least one of them dark. I have also used salted butter. It works every time. It's a very forgiving recipe. Also, if you let it sit for a bit it thickens as it cools. You can save the leftover (if there is any) in the fridge and warm in the microwave the day after for a 2nd helping. Or eat it with a spoon right out of the tupperware container. I'm just saying.