Finally, after 8 hours of hard work, the outside is complete! Matt and I worked all day hanging, hammering, wrapping, plugging, etc. It will be raining all day tomorrow, so I will be decorating the interior spaces. I love the holidays!
It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...
Finally, after 8 hours of hard work, the outside is complete! Matt and I worked all day hanging, hammering, wrapping, plugging, etc. It will be raining all day tomorrow, so I will be decorating the interior spaces. I love the holidays!
Christmas Blondes
Two blondes decided that this Christmas they wanted to cut down their own Christmas tree. So they drove two hours into the country and walked deep into the woods to find the perfect Christmas tree. They had planned the trip well, especially considering that they were blond. They were dressed warmly with boots, warm coats and hats. They had a chain saw, hatchet, a bag to protect the tree and rope to drag it back to their car. Every detail was covered.
They searched and searched. They had gone to all this trouble, nothing but the prefect tree would do. They searched for hours through knee deep snow and biting wind. Finally, five hours later with the sun beginning to go down, one blonde says to the other, "I can't take this anymore. I give up! There are hundreds of beautiful trees out here. Let's just pick one whether it's decorated or not!" Found on http://www.jokesblonde.com/.
150th
This is officially my 150th blog post! I haven't even been blogging for a year, and I really don't have that much to blog about, but I do take a lot of photos, and many of them find their way to my blog. We shall see what I have in store for the next 150 blog posts!
Internet Savvy
The Internet is an amazing tool. These two sites have made my life a little easier lately!
a. Craigslist
Awesome! Instead of having to contact the local newspaper and pay a few bucks to list the desk and chairs we have for sale, it took me about 15 minutes and they were posted. A few days later, someone picked them up, handed me cash, loaded them into their car, and made my house a little less cluttered! Yay for simplicity!
b. Domino's Pizza
That's right, Domino's! I usually don't like domino's, but we decided to order one night last week. I went online to find the phone # and closest location, only to discover I could just order and pay online, awesome! But that's not all... not only can you order (choosing between all of their specials, toppings, etc.) and pay, but you can track your pizza from order to delivery at your door. It told me when "John" was creating my pizza, then when he put it in the oven, then when he took it out of the oven and put it in a box, and then when "Lisa" left the store to bring it to my house! I was more than thrilled to receive it within 25 minutes, and was so delighted to leave them a good review on their site.
a. Craigslist
Awesome! Instead of having to contact the local newspaper and pay a few bucks to list the desk and chairs we have for sale, it took me about 15 minutes and they were posted. A few days later, someone picked them up, handed me cash, loaded them into their car, and made my house a little less cluttered! Yay for simplicity!
b. Domino's Pizza
That's right, Domino's! I usually don't like domino's, but we decided to order one night last week. I went online to find the phone # and closest location, only to discover I could just order and pay online, awesome! But that's not all... not only can you order (choosing between all of their specials, toppings, etc.) and pay, but you can track your pizza from order to delivery at your door. It told me when "John" was creating my pizza, then when he put it in the oven, then when he took it out of the oven and put it in a box, and then when "Lisa" left the store to bring it to my house! I was more than thrilled to receive it within 25 minutes, and was so delighted to leave them a good review on their site.
Best Brownies
Recipe from the kitchen of Sallie Rosa.
Brownies:
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/3 cup cocoa
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
Mix butter, sugar, and vanilla. Add eggs and beat well. Combine flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt. Gradually mix into wet ingredients. Spread in greased 9" square pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes, or until they begin to pull away from the edges. Cool completely. Frost if desired!
Frosting:
3 Tablespoons butter, softened
3 Tablespoons cocoa
1 Tablespoon light corn syrup
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup confectioners sugar
1-2 Tablespoons milk
Cream butter, cocoa, syrup, and vanilla. Add confectioners sugar and milk. Beat to spreading consistency.
Brownies:
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/3 cup cocoa
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
Mix butter, sugar, and vanilla. Add eggs and beat well. Combine flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt. Gradually mix into wet ingredients. Spread in greased 9" square pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes, or until they begin to pull away from the edges. Cool completely. Frost if desired!
Frosting:
3 Tablespoons butter, softened
3 Tablespoons cocoa
1 Tablespoon light corn syrup
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup confectioners sugar
1-2 Tablespoons milk
Cream butter, cocoa, syrup, and vanilla. Add confectioners sugar and milk. Beat to spreading consistency.
The South in a Magazine
This magazine is the perfect blend of two of my favorite things, all things southern + magazines. It is a beautifully illustrated magazine with wonderful articles about people, places, food, entertainment, events, and more that make up the great South! It is published out of Charleston, South Carolina, one of my favorite cities. I discovered it in a doctor's office a few months back and have been loving it ever since!I love magazines! In college, I would take my favorite design magazines to the local coffee shop and sit for hours in the comfy chair sifting through them. They would lay open all over my drafting table or bed when I was searching for ideas for my latest design project. They had folded corners and sticky tabs jutting out of the tops and sides. As an Interior Architecture major, it was the most perfect form of research. I was in heaven! I drew inspiration from the pages of those magazines, helping me when I had a challenge with one of my design spaces.
Currently, I only have one subscription showing up in my mailbox monthly (Reader's Digest), but I think I know what to add to my Christmas list this year!
