a view from mom's garden

This flower reminds me of one of my favorite crafting tools: the spirograph.

a toast to wineries

Summer in Southern Illinois means going to wineries (click here to see a past post on this topic). I went back to the region for a bit this summer and had a relaxing time sitting outside on warm afternoons with friends, gazing out at the vines and sipping chilled white wine.

road trip: enchanted highway

The Enchanted Highway in North Dakota is a thirty mile stretch of road that has many different metal sculptures every few miles, from Teddy Roosevelt on a horse to 15 foot grasshoppers all created by one artist with just donations. This one is titled "Pheasants on the Prairie." The drive was beautiful and the sculptures worked surprisingly well amongst the farm fields.

hay and horses

road trip: miss salem sue

New Salem, North Dakota is home to the world's largest Holstein cow. Weighing in at 12,000 pounds, it is difficult not to notice that the dairy industry is a big part of this region.

road trip: crazy horse

Here are just a few of the amazing facts about Crazy Horse (find more here):

*It is being carved in the round and when completed it will be 641 feet long and 563 feet high, larger than the pyramids.

*All four 60-foot high heads on Mt. Rushmore would fit inside just Crazy Horse's head.

*There are one million visitors a year.

*They allow dogs!

las vegas part iii: art walk

I knew that Vegas had opulent architecture, but it was very cool to see how much new art is around town. Before, there were a lot of marvels inside casinos, like the famous Chihuly ceiling at the Bellagio. But now the new City Center and its casinos have put many whimsical and fantastic pieces from their collections outside and in the mall, like the canoe sculpture.

las vegas part ii: dessert in the desert

What was amazing to see in Vegas is that all around me, at all times, there were abundances where there should be none. Water in the desert? There are hundreds of fountains and sometimes the water dances. We are in an economic downturn, but every where I turn there is opulence and bells and pings from wins and high limit areas. One thing that I was quite pleased to see in abundance were the various European pastry shops that I found in nearly every casino like Payard and Jean Phillipe. The largest chocolate fountain in the world and the best lemon creme and raspberry-filled macaroon with a sugar dusted rose petal are found in Nevada. Not one treat was a gamble and all were winners.

vegas part i: cityscapes

I have wanted to go to Las Vegas for years. I don't really drink, I never gamble, and I don't do well in high temperatures. So why have I been so curious about this desert destination? I LOVE SPARKLE. I love lights and excess and majestic design and absurdly over the top curiosities. And Vegas did not disappoint. In just a few miles,I could visit Paris, New York, and Venice, see water dance, and sit in a crystal chandelier. Not a bad way to spend an afternoon.

seasons change?

I started off my string of summer vacations in Winter Park this year. It was wonderful to see that parts of the area are still full of snow- so much so that one of the ski resorts is still open. I could not pass up the opportunity to ski at the end of May.

spaaaah

Near Winter Park is the town of Hot Sulphur Springs. The resort there has 24 pools- both indoor and out- that range in temperature from 85 to 112 degrees. Once I got used to the smell of sulphur it was so relaxing to dip in and try different pools and look out at the snow-capped mountains.

go for the gold

A friend's daughter is having her 4th birthday at a park today. The main event is a scavenger hunt, so my presents to her and her guests are rainbow cupcakes that have a gold coin in the cloud of frosting. I hope all the kids find even more treasures.

vivre la macaroon

You may have noticed that the macaroon is everywhere these days- even Urban Outfitters sells a macaroon cookbook. I have fully jumped on the bandwagon and sampled many different flavors from various tea and dessert shops around my area. I now consider myself a dedicated scholar of the treat and will continue to be a life long learner.

stuffed smart

Elephants never forget and owls are the symbol of wisdom. So before I gave away these little guys I thought they should pose with a backdrop they'd be comfortable with.

a pair of old pajama pants

plus a lovely scent

equals sachets and a nice birthday gift for a friend

squeak

Me and a friend went to explore Colorado Springs last month and found a little treasure tucked away in a random strip mall. Squeak: Purveyors of Fizzy Living is a contemporary soda shop with a clear mission: make people smile. The shop's decor and menu is completely bubbly. There is a mural depicting a fantastical wonderland of fun. There is cotton candy and bulk candy (including hard to find things like chocolate covered gummy bears). And then there is the soda. There is a list of 40 different soda flavors and little vials to see the rainbow of colors and smell them all. If you mix and match them and add some ice cream then there are over 700 different combinations. I just had to buy the cupcake soda to take home. Cheers to Squeak!

before and after

My living room has a bright pink taffeta chair, books on Coco Chanel on the end table, and lots of big silver candlesticks in front of the fireplace. In short, it is cute. Except for these pillows. It occurred to me that these do not fit the space; they are too dark, too drab.


I looked for new ones at various stores but nothing jumped out at me, so I decided to recover my old ones. I found the pink fabric at Fancy Tiger and the yellow at JoAnn's. I made a little pleat in front and voila! New pillows that brighten up the couch and are more my style.

the lush

That is the name I gave this fantastic cupcake that my sister found on Smitten Kitchen. Call it the lush, the drunken cupcake, the Irish Carbomb cupcake or just call it scrumptious. It is Guinness chocolate cake with Jameson ganache filling topped with Bailey's frosting. It may not have been the most appropriate cupcake to bring to a baby shower, but I did and people couldn't get enough. I did warn the parents that the frosting and ganache had alcohol that hadn't been cooked, but they seemed to think that the sugar and booze would even each other out.

art walk

I love taking trips. Driving around discovering new places or returning to familiar places to see friends and family: it's all good. But sometimes mini day trips are the best. Just waking up and thinking: I want to go to that new bakery or farmer's market in the town 30 minutes away, or that hiking trail 40 miles away, or that fantastic shopping center 50 miles away. Last Wednesday my computer was in the shop and it was 75 degrees so it was a day made for exploration. I visited Loveland's sculpture garden. Loveland hosts a large sculpture show every summer and each year they buy a few pieces to put in the park. There are currently 131 sculptures. Here are a few of my favorites.

tea party ready

I have been threatening to make tiered cake plates for months and finally made a few last week. It has been fun going to thrift stores looking for plates and little decorative bobbles. Now I have to have a party so I can fill them up with goodies.

brrr v. grrr

My sister saw a hat like this
at a cool craft store and
thought it was fun. I knew I had
to try and make it for her.
It was a great winter treat.

caramels with a kick

Instead of making chocolates this Valentines, I made salted caramels with a twist: they are topped with espresso sugar, turning them into a great blend of salty/sweet/jolty!