Home Improvement?

You'd think I would have learned my lesson after ending up with a nice mustard yellow for my kitchen even though I spent weeks picking out a gorgeous beige... but nope, I'm at it again. After all, paint gives you the "most impact" for the least cost, right? (can't remember which episode of Trading Spaces or HGTV taught me that gem)



Just to keep everyone updated on the happenings in the life of the little condo that I call home, I thought I'd document my project. One immediate observation is that a lot of prep-work goes into these types of projects... we've just now finished sanding and priming the bookshelves and are on to marking them up with painter's tape. Being the perfectionist I am, this could take weeks.


The idea is to, at some point, actually add some noticeable color to the built-ins... you be the judge.

Happy Birthday, Annabelle!

Today marks the 3rd anniversary of the birth of my dear doggie, Annabelle Liberty Wallace (yes, my dog has a middle name).

For those of you she hasn't met yet, she is my adorable miniature, black & tan, long-haired dachshund. I was told yesterday that it was quite an embarrassment to not have posted a picture of my cute pooch, so here we are... and with perfect timing if you ask me.

As you can tell, she is really big into posing for the camera (much like my nephew); and, she was also VERY excited about opening her presents.

It's been a great 3 years with my bundle of hyper-activity...

Rita's!

Neither of the girls in this picture are named Rita... guess again. Rita's is the now-famous (at least in my eyes) water ice place that I was introduced to in Hilton Head earlier this summer. Since that fateful moment, I have made an effort to take advantage of each occasion that I find myself in the fortunate position of being in a "Rita's city".

Recommendation: Mango Gelati, though I hear the Mistos are lovely too

As for this picture - I visited Carolyn in the city of Brotherly Love (Philly) this past weekend; amazingly enough, we had no itinerary for the weekend except for hitting at least one Rita's, and we made good on our plan. My first comment about Philly (prior to this visit, I'd only been there in the dead of winter for the Army-Navy Classic - Go Navy) is that the city is a lot more vibrant than I realized; and, my second observation is that there is a LOT more traffic on the drive up and back during the summer.

On a somewhat related note, I have made the official decision that when I return to Philly (and inevitably to Rita's) in just a few short weeks, I will only be there to cheer Christy on in the 1/2 marathon (www.runphilly.com). After running for only a short time with my knee brace yesterday, it was clear that this knee was not going to carry me for 13.1 miles. So... I will not be joining Christy in the race, nor in the pictures on the "Rocky steps" as that is only for those who run. Perhaps it is fate that I will miss my first attempt at a race - am I to be a marathon cheerer-oner forever???

Brioche Blues

I guess I kind of considered myself to be a something of an amateur cook and/or baker... but this Martha Stewart "Chocolate Swirled Brioche" got the best of me. Maybe it was the fact that I wasn't sure if I put in 8 or 9 eggs and that my butter wasn't EXACTLY softened before I painstakingly added each of the 16 TBSP, but I do know I definitely buttered the bowl in preparation for the dough.




Regardless, this just looks too good to give up on after only one try... I'm no quitter... I will take out the now used dough hook and give it a go again sometime. And, in the meantime, you all can drool over the picture!

Or, try it yourself...

picture from Martha Stewart

Obviously...

... my first post ever (am I really doing this?) is centered around a picture of the cutest little guy around...

Meet Charlie, my nephew, at 9 1/2 months strong. Since my brother and sister-in-law still live in the dark ages with dial-up, I'll have to keep the world current with pictures of "the boy". And if anyone knows how to transplant eyelashes, I want Charlie's.

If I actually manage to keep up with this, it should be an occasionally humorous attempt to keep up with the world as it flies by (oh, and probably lots of tidbits about cooking and baking). In the end, though, it'll at least, hopefully, force me to take more (and better??) pictures!