Carmel-by-the-Sea

We spent the last 4 days at Pebble Beach. It's a wonderful trip that we get to take every July. I always try to get into Carmel. Here are a few shots of our day exploring.
Carmel-by-the-Sea is a lovely place.

This beautiful antique store is a "must see". It's called Forget Me Nots and is in a courtyard behind a yummy restaurant called Grasings.

I've been wanting to visit the well known antique store, Tancredi & Morgen for 6 years and finally did it. It's on Carmel Valley Road. They've been in business for 22 years. We talked to Roger, the owner, for quite awhile, he's a very interesting man from South Africa.

We also did a little shopping at Crossroads at the corner of Rio Road and Hwy 1. Because of another blog we ate at R.G. Burgers and it was very very good! I always try to visit Knitting by the Sea, Findings, Forget Me Nots, Pierre Deux, and Trouve. I didn't get to every place this year because we found some new finds. There's always next year. . .

Friday is Pizza Night

Can you tell that my half is on the left and DH's is on the right? He's got more stuff and more spices on his side.

I'm not sure how this got started, but for at least the past two years, Friday night has been pizza night at our house. I think it used to be Pizza Hut pizza, but now it's homemade. I remember having difficulty making the dough, but after a class at Sur La Table, I make it all the time. So, I thought I'd share my recipe with you and maybe some hints.

1. Plan ahead. You have to begin your dough around 3 or 4:00 if you want it to rise by 6ish. Actually, last night I made it around 5 and it was good enough by 6. You have to have good yeast.

2. I use a pizza stone from Pampered Chef. Love it. It makes a lot of difference.

Recipe:

1 pkg active dry yeast
1-1/4 c lukewarm water
2-1/3 c unbleached, all-purpose flour
3/4 c cake flour
1/3 tsp freshly ground pepper
1 tsp salt
2 tbl olive oil

In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in 1/2 c of the water and let stand for 10 minutes. In a mixing bowl, mix flours, pepper, and salt together. Add dissolved yeast to the dry ingredients with olive oil and 1/2 c of remaining water. Mix with a wooden spoon to form dough, adding a little more water if needed. Remove dough from the bowl to a floured surface. Knead for 8 to 10 minutes, or until dough is smooth and pliable. Flour board lightly when dough begins to stick. Wash and dry mixing bowl, and rub it with olive oil. Place dough in the bowl and turn it over to coat it thoroughly. Cover dough with plastic wrap and place in a warm place (75 to 80 degrees F) for two hours or until doubled in bulk. When dough has doubled in bulk, punch it down and knead for 15 seconds. Let it rest under a towel for 10 minutes before proceeding with recipe.


3. I cook it on the stone at 425 F for 10 minutes before I add the toppings.

4. Add toppings of your choice and cook another 10 minutes till browned.

Favorite Thing

Cindy at http://romantichome.blogspot.com/ asked fellow bloggers to post their favorite thing from their home. That's difficult to narrow down. So, here's a picture of ONE of my favorite things. I've never had this much display space in a home before so I've really enjoyed playing with this "library" area. I love the wallpaper I added to the back and the shelves hold special treasures. On the far left is a game board that my great grandfather made. On the right is my husband's old toy cash register. On the bottom right is a jar filled with odd and ends from my Papaw. And in the middle is one of his old Kansas license plates. Along with a collection of lawn sprinklers, flower frogs and pictures of my daughters, everything on here has a story. I love it.

DD2 Bedroom

I thought I'd show you another room. This is DD2's room. It is basically finished. Someday I'm planning on slipcovering a chair out of the black and creme toile. This pillow is entirely hand embroidered. It took me FOREVER. But, I didn't know of anywhere to get it done this large. I like it.

I used a projector to get this design on the wall. It took me forever to start it and only a few minutes to actually paint it. The dresser I found in an antique store. I had planned on a lower, white dresser with a large mirror over it, but really like how this worked out and she has more storage. The picture frame still needs a picture in it.

I ordered this linen on ebay, washed it many times and made this coverlet. The headboard we used in her sister's hot pink and orange bedroom with a queen size bed. I think it works great here. The pictures are sketches from a design class that I found at the Rose Bowl flea market for about $4 a piece. I just put them into Target frames in glass. I repurposed bolsters from Ikea that had been green faux fur. Taking off the covers and making new ones out of toile. She loves it when she's home.

Mamma Mia Fabrics

Did anybody happen to notice the BEAUTIFUL fabrics used in the movie Mamma Mia? I'll have to search and see if I can find a picture. All I can say is GORGEOUS!

Decorating Trends, In or Out?

I'm wondering. There are lots of stores that have "vase fillers". They're everywhere along with apothecary jars. I have several myself. While I love apothecary jars I'm curious what anyone thinks about if this is a trend or something that will stay for awhile. I sometimes am frustrated when you see something original and before long it's everywhere. Beautiful antique apothecary jars have segued into cheap versions at Home Goods and Target. I do understand the benefit of having beautiful design be available to anyone, but then that takes the uniqueness away from the originals. I'd like to hear opinions on two things, whether fillers and jars are a trend that are OVER and your opinion on "accessible design." Just thinking.

God Is In the Details

No, this isn't the prettiest picture, but is undoubtable proof that there is a God. Signs of new life exist EVERYWHERE. Even where you don't want them. Below is another sign of new life. A much cuter one, at that. Goodness she is adorable, isn't she.

Problem Is. . .

I was going to have every Friday post be a Food post. Problem is. . . the picture of the recipe I was going to do today is on my newly deceased OTHER computer. It is a recipe for Pizza Dough basically because I make homemade pizza almost every Friday night. However, tonight is Bunco and pizza night is taking a breather. A girl's gotta have fun you know!

I've decided to also have a Problem Is. . . series of posts. The first one was on my other blog, heliumhand.blogspot.com, Just in case you are so anxious to read about my problems. I'm sure you have plenty of your own. Actually, they're not really problems. Take this one for example. I have an addiction. I freely admit it. It has even been passed on to my children. As you can see from the photo below, I have a SERIOUS magazine addiction. Yes, this is my side of the bed. It looks particularly trashy. That's why when you enter the room you can't see this. ;-) They are mostly decorating magazines. There is also an In-Style, More, Real Simple, Organizing, Cooking Light, Interweave Knits, Martha Stewart Weddings and various others smattered throughout the piles here and under the bed and under the guest room bed. . . SEE WHAT I MEAN!!! It's particularly bad when some of them are foreign magazines (they're expensive). My particular favorite is the British edition of Country Living. I also like Marie Claire Ideas, but it's all in French and that poses a problem when you can't read the directions. If anyone's there, please tell me it's going to be okay. I've reminded my DH that this is my ONLY vice, I'm just sure of it.

Yes, I am fully aware that there is no picture in the frame and no plant in the beautiful Guy Wolff pot. Sooner or later.

More pretties

This picture is to illustrate that I'm not afraid to making something my own. The original pillows on this couch were UGLY! So, I took the pillows apart and recovered them in various pattern fabrics to bring out my color scheme of red, blue and gold. I love the designer Linda Applewhite's style and this is an attempt to work with the various patterns like she does so well. The smaller pillows are from Pottery Barn. The big ones, I redid.

These are close up pictures of my newest splurge. For years, 28 to be exact, I have made all my own draperies or bought cheap versions. This time, I paid the big bucks and had them made. I am thrilled with the outcome. Again, you'll see my love of mixing patterns and color.

These were for the kitchen/family room area. The living room will have to be another year. I really need a bigger table since this is now my own dining area. But, I love this table. Sorry, you can't see the legs. Another time. So, it's a dilemma. Someday there will be crown molding also.

Is it Finished?

I think this is my only finished room. It is my teeny tiny family room. But, there's only two of us and it's nice and cozy. I love the mirrored wall. It would be a cave without them. There are basically no windows in this room, there's a small one on the edge. It sits in back of the garage. So, the mirrors were essential. They bring the light in from the windows on the back of the house. I still want to have crown molding put up. At this point that's the only thing left to do in this room. Yippee!

Hiding the Uglies

This is my ugly problem. My builder put the intercom unit in the middle of the largest wall in the kitchen. One reason we built this model was because I could hang my antique cabinet on this wall. By the time I realized it, it was too late to change it. I lived out of state and my husband didn't see it. So, here is my solution. It's okay.

Solution: hanging a frameless picture on top of it. Nobody has any idea.

God is in the Details

I think Sunday's are going to be titled "God is in the Details". If we pay attention, we can see God everywhere. In this picture these roses from my garden are delicate, beautiful and painful if you don't handle them correctly. "Consider how the lilies grow. They do not labor or spin. yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these." Luke 12:27

End Result

The "firecracker" is something I made with my kids when they were small. It's basically a HoHo, red and blue frosting in tubes and a birthday candle. My 20 year old requested that we have them again this year. :-)

First Favorite Recipe

I think I'll start this blog off with food. Why not? We all love food. Maybe too much. Since today is Independence Day, it was requested by DH that I make homemade ice cream. And yes, vanilla it is. It crossed my mind to make it peach. But peaches aren't really quite good enough yet. Chocolate always enters my mind, as in chocolate chips. But, I stayed with the tried and true and made vanilla.

Country Vanilla Ice Cream

4 eggs

2-1/2 c sugar

5 c. milk

4 c. heavy cream

4-1/2 tsp vanilla

Add sugar gradually to beaten eggs. Continue to beat until mixture is very stiff. Add remaining ingredients and mix thoroughly. Pour into gallon ice cream freezer.

* notes to self - I halved the recipe, there are only two of us these days. I forgot to put in the vanilla! We'll see how this batch turns out. I also heated up 1 cup of milk and poured it into the egg and sugar mixture in order to "cook" the eggs and not worry about salmonella or some such thing. I don't really know if it works, but I tried.

I thought of this too late to take an actualy picture of the action so I decided to show you a picture of my little vintage ice cream freezer. It's much cuter anyway.