Puppy Kisses

I have been missing Seymour since we got here. There are adorable little dogs all over this city, and there was even one in line for a taxi when we left the airport. This will be the longest I've left Seymour since I got him, and I know it's worse for me than for him!!!

wish list part 2

Le Creuset pots in Caribbean Blue

Hable Construction "Picnic" bag in Turquoise

black sheep

Strawberries

Before I left town, I bought these yummies at Monterey Market.... mmm.

Rainy Day Sunshine

Here is Laurel looking cute under our two umbrellas today.

Greetings, Etc.

Hello from New York! We got in last night and this morning we headed over to the convention center with our 90 lbs of luggage to set up the booth. It went really well, and Jane stopped by to help out too, so that made things faster. All in all, including a long brunch break across town at 9th St Market (where we saw Michael Cera!!!!), it took us about 10 hours. Anyhow, here's the end result! More pics to come, I assure you.

This Is It!

My puppy alarm clock woke me up early this morning, but I suppose it's good practice, since I have to be up at 4am tomorrow to leave for New York. That's right- it's tomorrow! My to-do list for today is surprisingly short, but I am sure I will be adding to it as things pop into my head. Last night it took me forever to fall asleep because I kept having to get up and write things down. Anyhow, my next post will be from the Big Apple, so stay tuned!

PS: These roses live right outside my bedroom window. I SO don't miss apartment living!

Why I Love My Local Hardware Store

I love shopping in drugstores and hardware stores because there are always so many unexpected finds. Last week I went in to buy woodgrain switchplate covers for That Room and found this gem which I am using in my kitchen. Pardon the flash!

A.N.T.R.V.C.

The judges have deliberated, and we have come to a decision. There are seven beautiful cupcakes before me, but only one of them can be America's Next Top Red Velvet Cake....


Duncan Hines, we love your color and your light, fluffy texture. You somehow manage to be moist but not heavy, and that is a valuable skill as a cupcake. But some people here think that making cakes from mixes is a little "commercial", and we wonder if you have what it takes to be a gourmet treat.

Martha Stewart, we think you have a beautiful color, and we love your style, but we wonder if you are too "mature" and dry to make it in the world of cakes.

Paula Deen, you are so sassy and vibrant, and we thought that using marshmallows and coconut in your frosting was a really daring move. But your texture is so coarse, sometimes we think you might be better off taking away the food color and calling yourself "yellow cake".


James Beard, we had high hopes for you from the beginning. You walked in here with more experience in baking than any of the other recipes, but taste after taste, you have disappointed us with your blandness. Where is the color we see in the other cakes?

Beet cake, we all know that in baking, like in fashion, old is always new again. We love that you took such a risk in bringing back the traditional coloring ingredient, beets, but your texture and your flavor just don't seem like "America's Next Top Red Velvet Cake".

Chocolate cake, you came into this competition as the odd one out. We thought, "how could a chocolate cake be red?" But you surprised us again and again with your flair. Unfortunately, we felt your texture was lacking, and when you fell apart before we could even bite into you, some of the judges gave up on you.

Suicide cake, we thought you were moist and flavorful. We especially liked your swirly color. But we don't understand how we can replicate you, since you are such a mixed up mess.

So who doesn't go home? The cakes that are flavorful but dry, or the moist ones that taste like nothing? Or is it the one from the box, the one that nobody thought could be good?


Duncan Hines. Congratulations, you are America's Next Top Red Velvet Cake!

(screaming and crying follows)

Wish List

These are some things I have been desperately wanting for my house. Actually, I've written to Brian Kerrigan and I think I might use his tiles (in white) in my bathroom!

Clockwise, from the top left: "Feasting at the Berry Bush" pillow from Deadly Squire, woodgrain ceramic tiles from Brian Kerrigan,Tea towels from Mozi, "Gourmet" porcelain takeout dishes by Lorena Barrezueta, lamp from Oscar de la Renta

*don't forget you can always enlarge my pictures by clicking on them!*

That Room

Maybe this is a good place to think out loud about the room off the garage. Until recently, this room was where I kept my previously un-unpacked boxes, mostly of craft supplies, gift wrap, and other miscellany. When Eric and I started talking about moving in together, I decided I'd better start making better use of the space I have, and realized that the guest room was being wasted as well. Sure, I have the occasional overnight visitor, but for the most part the guest room (which had been the first room I fully furnished and decorated when I moved in) had been neglected. And it's a nice room, with great light! So I started moving all my crafting, sewing, and gift-wrapping materieals into there, and thanks to The Container Store, I got everything well-organized and much more functional. Now it seems I use that room every day, and I love it! BUT, when I moved everything out of the room off the garage, it was left empty. Since that room has french doors onto the patio, it seemed only logical to make it a family room/ bar that would be an extention of the yard when we are entertaining. Luckily I came up with this plan shortly before last month's antique fair, and I was able to score some great finds, including this beverage cart* (which was orange, but I painted it green), this fantastic trash can, and the tree stump lamp above (which I repainted and need to rewire). I also found this trunk on sale at Target, from the Woolrich collection.
Anyways, as you can see I'm working with alot of wood and faux wood tones, and trying to give some life to a room that seems like it was hastily added onto the garage sometime in the 1960's. If you have any suggestions for me, please let me know!

*yes, those glasses DO have printing presses on them!

wow.

I've decided I want to put in wood paneling in the room off the garage, to give it more of a hunting-lodge-meets-basement-rec-room feel, and also to warm the place up a bit (it's all concrete now), but I am having the hardest time finding the panels! Did they just stop making that stuff after the 1970's? I have found several companies that sell real wood that has to be installed strip by strip, and is sold in a minimum of 800 square feet (I only need about 60 for the one wall...), but that's about it. Until... I found THIS website. Unfortunately I don't think I can install wallpaper over the popcorn stucco that's on the walls, but my head is swimming with ideas...

The Duncan Difference

As some of you may know, I received my box of Duncan Hines Red Velvet Cake Mix in the mail the day after our taste test. Having had enough Red Velvet for a while, I let the box sit for a couple of weeks in my pantry. And then last night, I pulled it out, dumped the contents into my mixer with some eggs, oil, and water, and voila! Cupcakes! I am bringing them over to the Huntress House later for the panel to taste, but in my humble opinion, these are much better than any of the recipes we tried two weeks ago. I think the big difference is the texture. Perhaps if we had used cake flour rather than all-purpose, and sifted our dry ingredients, some of the other cupcakes would have turned out similarly, but these ones are incredibly finely textured. They are also not too sweet, and just chocolate-y enough to no longer qualify as "yellow cake". Not to mention the lovely deep red color! My only complaint is in the frosting.
I'm sorry, but canned cream cheese frosting that doesn't need refrigeration just does not compare to the real thing. In any case, I will keep you posted on the opinions of my other tasters, but I think this recipe takes the cake!!!

Purple Houses

Home Again

I am finally back at my own house! Here are some pictures from my stay with my mom.

More Blue Houses

Six Days!

Six more days until Laurel and I leave for New York. Things are moving along on schedule but there's still so much to do! If I do this again next year, I am definitely going to hire an intern. I'm taking the day off on Monday, so there should be some more posts up then.

Blue Houses

These are some blue houses that have jumped out at me around town. There is one in Berkeley that I desperately want to photograph, so stay tuned for that.

NSS Update

Alright, posts are going to be a bit sporadic for the next week or so, as I am seriously feeling crunch time for the Stationery Show right now. At the moment things are basically on schedule (with a few planned-for glitches, of course), but there's still an enormous amount of things left to do. Next on my list is flameproofing the drapes my mom helped me make the other night. Sounds like fun! The good- great- news is that my friend Richard came through as always with my new cards and they are beautiful! They should be up on my website next week.

THE Green House

Driving around the East Bay, I've found that this shade of green is surprisingly popular, to the point that I decided it should merit its own photo essay someday. In the meantime, I give you this house, which is located in the middle of a row of beautiful mansions in Berkeley. The rumor is that the homeowners did it to spite their neighbors. Apparently the neighbors approached the owners of this house, after the paint job, with an offer to pay to repaint, but the owners refused. Now it stands out like a day-glo sore thumb. It's a shame because it was clearly once a beautiful brown-shingled Craftsman, and the grounds are still lovely...