{image – atlanta homes and lifestyles}
the michael devine fretwork fabric that womack jowers used on the walls is to die for. don’t you love it too?!!!
fretwork love
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Brown Sugar Baked Sweet Potatoes
My family did not grow up eating sweet potatoes and we definitely did not have sweet potatoes on Thanksgiving. And quite frankly, I don't really care for them. But as many of you know, when you get married and start a family of your own, you adapt to new traditions. One of which, in my case, is sweet potatoes.
This past week, we spent Thanksgiving with my Mom and her new (as in just got married a week ago) hubby, Allen. Like I said before, Mom and I don't do sweet potatoes, but we wanted to make sure we kept our guys happy so we added sweet potatoes to the menu. Rather then doing a giant sweet potato casserole that would only be eaten by 2-3 people, we opted for another solution - Brown Sugar Baked Sweet Potatoes. And let me tell you, these were a big hit! If you are looking to add some sweet potatoes to your holiday entertaining menu, I highly recommend you give these a try!
Brown Sugar Baked Sweet Potatoes
Serves 4
Ingredients:
4 medium-sized sweet potatoes
4 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons butter
Cinnamon, to sprinkle
32 small marshmallows or 16 large ones cut up
Directions:
Heat oven to 400 degrees. Place sweet potatoes in a deep baking dish and poke several holes in each one. Place in oven and bake for 45 minutes or until tender.
Meanwhile, cut your two tablespoons of butter into four equal pieces.
Cut each sweet potato down the center (length-wise). Be careful not to cut all the way through the potato. Place one piece of butter inside each potato.
Next sprinkle each potato lightly with cinnamon (as much or as little as your family likes). Then sprinkle the inside of each potato with one tablespoon of brown sugar.
If using large marshmallows, cut them into pieces. If using mini-marshmallows, then just skip this step.
Divide marshmallows out and place 1/4 in each sweet potato. Place sweet potatoes back in the oven and bake for 20 minutes or until tops are golden brown.
Remove sweet potatoes from oven and allow to cool slightly. Place sweet potatoes onto serving platter and enjoy!
If your family really enjoys sweet potato casserole, they will definitely enjoy this recipe. Try this easy recipe on a weeknight to go along with your family dinner. Super-easy and super-delicious!
{ Center Piece }
I thought I'd change things up a bit for the holidays.
I took down our chandelier for the Boutique
and kind of like this look for the
Christmas Season
it was simple, easy, & free!
I still have room for plates on either side of the sled, so I could also use the sled to place the food on.
I might even try to suspend the sled from the ceiling!
Wish me luck!
Time for Me: Part 1 – Skin Care and enter to win $100 Visa gift card
For the last almost three+ years I have either been pregnant or nursing. Yes, that’s right. I had my daughter Savannah and then when she was 7 months old I found out I was pregnant with my younger daughter Matilda. Two weeks ago I finally got my body back. After 15-months of nursing my daughter Matilda, I finally decided it was time to wean. I’d definitely say weaning was a bittersweet time for me. But all and all, I think it’s a little bit more on the sweet side.
Click here to read more and enter to win a $100 Visa gift card.
TANTALIZING TICKING ..........
Isn't ticking lovely ? I haven't got any in our home, but I really must rectify that situation as it's such a fresh look.
I've got the white pillow with ties ..........
I've have the white shabby mirror ..........
I have the chest of drawers ..........
I have the straw shopper ..........
.......... the vintage cases ..........
.......... the luggage labels ..........
.......... the black and white framed photographs ..........
.......... and even the brass bed but, not a stitch of ticking has entered our house. I think that I shall make it my mission (if I choose to accept it ) to bring a little ticking into our home. How about you, or have you beaten me to it ?
images 1 & 12 - Peacock Blue, 2- Living etc, 3- Country Living, 4,5 & 7 - Jigsaw, 6, & 13 -Toast, 8 - Divine Interiors and Gifts, 9 & 10- Forest Bound, 11- Martha Stewart.
A Green Nursery
Creating a healthy home has been a priority of ours since we began our renovations five years ago. Our motivation was due, in part, to the fact that this was a home in which we hoped to raise children. So naturally, creating the healthiest nursery possible was also main priority for us. It motivated all of our choices, from furniture and wall treatments, down to the rug.
These are the choices we made:
The Cribs: We chose the Da Vinci Jenny Lind crib because it is made with wood harvested from sustainably-managed forests. It's also lead and phthalate free, and stained in a non-toxic finish. Also, the teething rail is BPA free.
The Crib Mattresses: We chose Naturepedic organic mattresses. They offer a non-toxic waterproof surface that includes 100% food-grade polyethylene. They are also hypoallergenic, filled with organic cotton filling.
The Crib Sheets: We chose 100% organic cotton crib sheets.
The Armoire: It was important to us to not purchase any furniture for the nursery that was made with manufactured wood, that may contain glues, adhesives or other compounds which may off-gas over time. Antique furniture provides this safeguard, as well as the opportunity to recycle beautifully-crafted pieces made long ago.
Mike created shelves for the armoire using solid tongue and groove pine floor planks. My Mom then covered them in 100% cotton fabric.
Nursing Chair: We selected the IKEA Jenny Lund slipcovered arm chair for nursing. I was really nervous about bringing a new chair into our nursery, as most new furniture is constructed with manufactured woods that may off-gas. So, I was happy to learn that IKEA strictly procures wood from sustainably-managed forests, and their pressed wood products comply with low formaldehyde standards.
The Rug: We narrowed down our rug choices quite fast in knowing that we would only buy something that was made with natural fibers (with no rubber or plastic backing). We initially looked for 100% wool rugs, but ended up ordering a 100% jute braided rug for its style and shape. It's also reversible, so it should stand the test of time.
Wall Treatments: Like the rest of our house, the nursery was painted using Benjamin Moore's no-VOC line. Everything from the ceiling and the mouldings, to the doors and walls, were painted with the color Simply White in either flat or semi-gloss finishes.
Choosing white for the plaster walls was a natural choice for me as it was the color of my childhood room, from birth until I left for college.
White also has the added benefit of having less pigment added to the mix (pigments most often contain VOCs). I did just recently learn however that Benjamin Moore is one of the very few lines that uses VOC-free pigments. Thus their VOC-free line truly is VOC-free, no matter what color one chooses.
When Mike created the paneled wainscoting, he used solid wood mouldings, assembled and secured in place with a finish nail gun instead of glue.
The Closet: To create extra storage, we relocated the antique dresser from the guest house. We preferred using the dresser for the same reason that we chose the antique armoire. Also in the closet are the toys and books in waiting....until the babies are older.
Purchasing two cribs, two mattresses, two car seats, clothing, diapers, etc.... added up as you can imagine. So we focused our budget on the things we knew we would need from birth through the first several months. Any toys and books we have were ours from childhood, or were given to us by family and friends.
When we do start buying toys, we will focus on brands that offer phthalate-, BPA- and lead-free products.
Baby clothes: We have been very lucky in that we have received lovely hand-me downs from my friend Karen, and my brother Steven and his wife Marna, who have a son and two sweet daughters. The above knit sweater was my adorable nephew's.
This sweet outfit is a combination of a hand-me down (the white cotton onesie) from my niece and a purchase from a baby consignment store (the 100% organic cotton jumper with pink velvet piping). I've found consignment stores to be a wonderful resource for beautiful clothing, often hardly worn, at much lower prices than retail (organic knit jumper was $11).
I hope that everyone had a lovely Thanksgiving holiday! I managed to stay on my feet long enough to make the pie crust... I spent the rest of the day on the couch nodding off and listening to the bustle of kitchen activity made by my mom and Mike.
Happy Holiday Season to everyone! xo
Special Guest
A few posts ago, I posted about a cookie cake that Mr. Tea Rose Home made for our son's birthday party. So many people asked for the recipe that I asked Mr. Tea Rose Home if he would be interested in doing a guest post. He gladly accepted. So enjoy the recipe tutorial!
Hello ladies! Thanks for all the compliments on the cookies. I told Mrs. Tea Rose Home that I could write a post about how I make my cookies. She said, "Why, can't we just post the recipe?"
I jokingly replied, "Well, then we could write: It's on the back of Nestlé’s. The End."
So, there is my secret, the recipe is on the back of Nestlé’s Toll House Chocolate chips, however, that is not all. There is one thing that I learned over the years and it's not on the back of some bag. So without further ado, here is the recipe:
2 1/4 C. flour
1 tsp Baking Soda
1 tsp Salt
2 Sticks Butter
3/4 C. sugar
3/4 C. packed brown sugar
1 tsp Vanilla extract
2 Large Eggs
I use a KitchenAid mixer, and I always make the cookies in this order following these steps. This is why they turn out so good, and since I know of no one that makes them like this (because they've said so) it has got to be done this way.
Put the butter (Use the real stuff, no margarine; I use either salted or unsalted sweet cream. I haven't made two batches side by side to see if there is a real difference. When I make a double batch, I'll mix them.), sugar, brown sugar, vanilla, and eggs into the mixing bowl. Raise it up and turn the KitchenAid on to its lowest setting. Clean up (you don't have to clean; I'm just trying to keep the KitchenAid on longer.)
Mix the other ingredients into a separate bowl. Really you are supposed to sift those ingredients, but we either don't have one or I'm too lazy to find it, so I just put them in a bowl and lightly mix with a wire whisk.
This whole time the KitchenAid should still be mixing. You might have to stop it to get the butter clump off the mixing arm then start mixing it again. I will sometimes speed up the kitchen aid and lower the bowl to shake some of the mixture off and slow the KitchenAid down and raise the bowl back. 
If the dough looks like this, you haven't mixed it enough, keep mixing. Go watch TV with the kids or something, depending on how cold or solid the butter was; this could take some time. 
This is what the batter should look like, nice white and fluffy. No lumps from the butter or sugar. Now what I do is add about a tablespoon of the flour mixture in at a time. While the KitchenAid is mixing at its lowest setting, I'll add a scoop of flour and wait for it to get totally mixed in before adding another. This keeps the flour from clumping. Maybe you can just pour it all in and be done with it, but my cookies always turn out perfect if I do 1 heaping tablespoon at a time.
Once all the flour is mixed in, turn the oven on to 375°. Keep the KitchenAid going for several more minutes, and then turn it off. The dough should be delicious; yes, me and my kids love to eat the dough. Anyways, remove the mixing bowl from the KitchenAid and pour in the chips. When making a double batch, I mix in milk chocolate and semi-sweet chocolate. Mix with a spatula; be sure to dig in and pull the dough from the bottom and get a good even spread of chips throughout the dough.
For the cookie “cake”, I made a double batch and then scooped most of it into the pan and spread it out as much and I could. I think the dough was somewhere from a 1/4 inch to 1/2 inch thick, I'm not sure, I didn't measure. Either way, with cookies, you are supposed to cook for 9 to 11 minutes. I like my cookies doughy and gooey, so I go for 8 1/2 minutes (I use teaspoons to scoop out individual cookies.)
With the cookie “cake”, I cooked it for 9 minutes and that was too short, so back in for another 4 minutes... still not enough; 4 more seemed to do it; there was a nice light golden brown starting to form on the edges, it was done. Nice soft moist gooey cookies... mmmm.... Great with milk! 
They were almost all gone by the end of the party.
Well ladies… that was it. The KitchenAid was nice and warm from all the work, I must have mixed for 30 minutes or more but that is my secret. Keep mixing and then mix some more.
I hope this recipe tutorial will be helpful for you to make the cookie "cake". Thank you Honey for the special guest appearance!
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