The Happy Baker Returns

I'm baaaa-aaaaccckkkk. Colorado was wonderful. I was brave enough to stick my camera in my pocket (wrapped, wrapped again, and sealed in a ziploc bag) to take some pictures from 12,000 feet above the world. You just haven't lived until you've experienced oxygen deprivation as beautiful as this.

Speaking of oxygen deprivation, it was time to navigate my way through another Daring Bakers challenge the other week. My track record has not been anything worth writing home about (or blogging about, for that matter, but part of the deal is that I have to blog about it. Your loss. :-), but this time I have to say I kind of knocked it out of the park (or out of the kitchen, more appropriately).

This month's challenge was a Flourless Chocolate Cake, Chocolate Valentino, inspired by Malaysia’s “most flamboyant food ambassador,” Chef Wan. To quote The Daring Bakers: The February 2009 challenge is hosted by Wendy of WMPE's blog and Dharm of Dad ~ Baker & Chef. We have chosen a Chocolate Valentino cake by Chef Wan; a Vanilla Ice Cream recipe from Dharm and a Vanilla Ice Cream recipe from Wendy as the challenge.

Mmmm...Chocolate. I decided to bust this one out earlier in the month to entertain my Valentine's Day guests. I've made a flourless cake before, and I think I liked this recipe even a bit more. What's important when making one is that the cake will taste exactly like the chocolate you use, so choose wisely (I chose Ghirardelli bittersweet). It also means there will be folding of egg whites into your batter, a trick you may need to practice to get perfect but kudos to to The Daring Bakers for posting a great "how to" video link on the topic.

I chose to half the recipe; based on the comments I was reading on The Daring Bakers message boards I could see that would yield more than enough for me and my four guests. It also wouldn't be a Daring Baker challenge without me doing something spastic. Like planning to bake mini cakes, then realizing ten minutes before you're about to pop them in the oven that you never bought a cupcake tray for the shore house. Sigh.

So I improvised, because somehow I *did* buy cupcake tray liners. Go figure.

And 18 minutes later, I had delicious results:

The lovely Pat at Mille Fiori Favoriti (my inspiration for joining The Daring Bakers) has the entire recipe and some great "how to" photos she took. Hop on over and check out Pat's creations.

Tomorrow I'll be back with some surprises that arrived in the mail while I was away. Fun stuff!

Happiness also is...

...a snow day! (When you're a grown up with vacation days and flyer miles to cash in.)

View from our living room window, February 20, 2009

We ran away to Copper Mountain in Colorado for a few days and I couldn't be happier. Nor more sore. So. Out. Of. Shape. Thank you to everyone who visited my trashy frame find...Unfortunately I'm on a dial up connection (DIAL UP!) so I'm not sure if I'll be back online for a few days. It just took me the better part of a delicious local microbrew to get this one photo uploaded. I look forward to visiting with you when I get back next week...'til then, may all your days be powder days (or at least all my days!).

Happiness is...finding things in the trash.

Maybe it was having a weekday off in the middle of the winter, maybe it was my aggressive work schedule, maybe it's a combination of both. But something about Monday took me back to my younger days. I didn't shower. I stayed in my sweats all day. Totally forgot to eat. Never turned on the TV. And I picked something out of someone's trash.

Just in time to join in on Bloggeritaville's Thrifty Thursday! How, well, thrifty of me!

"Roadside treasures" around my parts aren't as good as they used to be. Or, maybe it's my patience for finding them that's not as good as it used to be. Or my fear of bed bugs. Regardless, on President's Day under the illumination of a street lamp, I found this frame:



I wasn't sure if should take it or not...Would it be ugly once I got it home? Did I need it?... but the little voice in my head said, "You MORON! Just take it!! Grab now, decide later!" Plus I was wearing my puffy full length coat, so no one would recognize me.

It was painted at some point -- it's worn out gold(ish) with some green:

I'm tempted to make it shiny black. And then do what with it, I have no idea.

There's a frame of the same size in our apartment ("shore house north") that I picked up at a yard sale a few years ago for $3 (I know the price because it's written on a piece of masking tape still on the back side) that simply rests atop the (flea market) secretary-turned-bar cart:

Not surprisingly there's tons of frame inspiration for me to look at online. Just off the top of my head there are the fabulous frames used in Mrs. Limestone's newly renovated home office (her frames were also found on the street, so I feel a bit of a kindred spirit thing going on). And, there's a beautiful idea that I stumbled onto Monday night on Bonbon Oiseau...who was featuring the home of Lobster & Swan (or, as I think I prefer, Lobster & Swooooonnn...). You'll have to click through to see.

Speaking of my thrifty, if you take a close inside my secretary you'll see the tea caddy I picked up for a buck this summer...happily united with its friends coffee and sugar.

Three *is* a charm!

Etsy Ross

Eddie Ross has set up shop on Etsy.

And it is quite a feast...

...of treats and collectibles.

"L" for Laura napkin rings...perfect, no?

Real friends, real estate, real good times.

(The subtitle for this post should be, "OMG I'm off today and I slept for 11 hours!")

As the headline suggests, this weekend was a real treat. First, three of my dear friends came over Saturday night for a barbecue (that's right; we fired up the grill. Take that, Old Man Winter!). They came bearing amazing food and gifts -- take a look at this fabulous flower arrangement that Spence just "whipped up" for my special day (and I don't mean Valentine's day. Someone in the shore house turned a year older this weekend.). I mean...the talent. Can't stand it. ;-)


And speaking of Spence, he and Jim had a quite a coup this weekend...Their house was featured in the New York Times' real estate section yesterday!

Their lovely Glen Ridge, NJ, home has served as a showcase for the talented couple's projects (something they're both hoping to pursue as full time professions; Jim has already been hired for home design projects and real estate staging consultations. I think you should call him if you live in the metropolitan NY/NJ area! And Spence's talent for arranging both flowers and the events they're created for can't be beat.). The house is a living portfolio that's a perfect representation of Jim's design capabilities, and how unexpected treatments can be used to make a house of any style truly represent the people that live in it. To them, any house is a blank canvas.

Here's the outside of the house...a comfortable suburban ranch tucked away on a quiet cul-de- sac. The lime green door is a tip-off to what you're about to see inside...


The entry hall envelops you in goodness; the deep color is daring, yet it's like a warm hug that beckons you to come inside. Love that! And yes; that painting is a Home Goods' special (birds of a feather, we are) hung upside down to make a bit of a statement and add a touch of whimsy (that sounds so HGTV of me).


Their large living room has smartly been divided into two distinct seating areas. The secretary has moved with James over the years; it's a rescue from his parents' basement that he coated in a warm, rich paint and silver leafed on the inside. Flat-screen technology has enabled it to become the perfect TV stand in its latest iteration.

And I wish I had a before picture of those wonderful white wing chairs (alliteration day at the shore house!). They are also rescues, from Spence's family, and were recently covered in fabulous white pleather (easily wipes clean, all you mommies out there afraid of white. Or, non-mommies like myself who spill the occasional drop of red wine. Oopsie.). The nail head trim really gives them a presence, and perfectly marries the modern with the traditional. I love these chairs. And covet them.

The dining room around the bend houses another family heirloom (the table) that fits the space perfectly. I also love the panels flanking either side of the window, that in essence become the window treatment.

The master bedroom is super cozy, and I love the unexpected use of etageres at the bedside. I actually never really noticed that rug before these Times' photos (all taken by Richard Perry) and now I think I covet that, too.

The Times did not show the kitchen, which I wanted to share because I think they've done a fantastic job using color (and new appliances) to perk up a tired suburban kitchen. The deep orange on the inside of the cabinets is another bold use of color that really makes their vintage kitchenware pop.

And they kept the doors on some of the upper cabinets, so it's a great compromise of open/closed storage.

Here's what the house looks like when winter's gone and everything's in bloom:

This house is currently on the market. As I briefly mentioned, Jim and Spence are at an interesting crossroads in their lives (you know that "we're-not-getting-younger-so-let's-do-what-makes-us-happy" crossroads? Lord knows I'm standing in that intersection myself!). They really want to follow their creative passions so they're hoping to pack up and move full-time to the Jersey Shore (steps from the shore house, in Asbury Park, NJ). I'm so happy for them, and admire their decision to do what makes them happy.

And while I'm on the topic of being happy, I was beyond happy to see Rent last night as it stopped at NJPAC as part of it's National tour. With three original cast members, including the yummy Adam Pascal (worth the price of the ticket alone), you'd think I'd be entirely content focusing on the show. But the "new Laura" -- one that has a home that needs some fixing -- was entirely transfixed by the stairway that led to the loft on stage. "That's the perfect size and layout for the widow's walk access." It's kind of all I could think about, so I quick took a picture so I could move on and enjoy the show.

And I did. (Move on, and enjoy the show!)

Now, on to your blogs. I've missed you, my lovelies!

Edward Laverde is the best bus driver in the world.

I've mentioned being a tad stressed (and neglectful of the blog thing) from the day job. Well, it reached a fever pitch the other night. My mind was going in so many different directions that I left my pocketbook on the bus. My pocketbook -- with wallet, cell phone, USB drive, and the added bonus of my social security card because I needed to bring it to work to make a photocopy.

I'll pause to let you think about how completely freaked out I was.

My friends were picking me up at the bus stop and as soon as I realized my bubble-headed move, they took off like one of those storm chasers (thanks, Jay & Deb!) to try to catch the bus. No luck. Jay and I would jump out of the car and into the paths of oncoming buses in an attempt to see if they had a way to call their their dispatcher. These were New Jersey buses that travelled in and out of New York City...they should have sophisticated communications systems, right? Wrong. I kept calling my cell phone, hoping my ringing purse would be picked up by someone on the bus...Still no luck.

To make a VERY long story short, the last person I called from my cell phone was my mom. About an hour later she called my man to let him know that bus driver had my bag, called her, and left a phone number and directions to the lost and found office my bag would be at. The next day, I was reunited with my pocketbook and every last penny that was in it.

And that is why Edward Laverde is the best bus driver in the world.

:-)

So I chilled out this weekend to let my blood pressure settle back into an acceptable level. I popped into one of my favorite little haunts, Cottage by the Sea in Avon, NJ. They had some good loot, including these 1950s glass pitchers:


With 50% off, they were only $5 and $6 each. I really loved that one on the left with the blue and gold houses, but walked away (how about that? It's probably because my brain still isn't firing on all cylinders due to aforementioned purse panic). Our kitchen cabinets are filled with everything we could ever need, and more.

Speaking of kitchen, we got a new dishwasher. The old, black one that we inherited with the house had seen better days. Not totally evident from this picture:

But definitely evident from the rusted, bent and melted racks inside.

The new stainless model...

...has helped us complete our kitchen quasi-makeover. When we first moved in a full kitchen gut was on the to do list. But when I got down and dirty (literally) scrubbing the kitchen within an inch of its life, and when we perked it up with some funky art work, fresh paint, and new light fixtures, we got ourselves a "new" kitchen for around $2500 -- and that includes the new dishwasher and refrigerator. Not bad, right? I need to get her organized but I think the kitchen is soon to be post-worthy. It's no Rate My Space, but it's not bad.

It's a gift, really.

No...it's not having a golden voice, nor is it clairvoyance or psychic ability. My gift is the ability to find bargains.

You should know, I do not love shopping for clothes. I do not like the trying on, the tailoring to fit my (odd) shape, the way I look in clothes. I like none of it. But when your work clothes become threadbare, and your trouser socks and stockings have more holes than a good Emmenthaler, it's time to act. And use The Gift.

I went to Stein Mart on a quiet Friday night at 8:00 p.m. (For The Gift to work it must be unimpeded by screaming children or ornery women.) I didn't think I was the Stein Mart-type of woman (I'm young! I'm hip! Right? RIGHT?!) -- I didn't even know what a Stein Mart was until we "headed south" (south Jersey, that is). And this is what I learned: If you're patient and willing to poke around clearance racks, and you come bearing coupons, there's gold in them thar hills.

Behold, my bounty (bad photo...yikes!). In at just a hair over $100:



Let's take a look at the highlights:

That tissue-thin cotton Calvin Klein ivory-colored sweater in the lower right corner of the photo...$4.04. That's right...I even took a picture of the receipt, because just seeing "Calvin Klein" and "$4.04" together for something that isn't socks...well, rocks my socks.

Then there's the Nine West belted fancy dress for $14.51:

And a Kenneth Cole Unlisted clutch for $8.69. OK, I didn't *need* this. Mea culpa. But so cute with the Nine West dress:

Besides, shouldn't we be working together to stimulate the economy? Didn't I try so very hard to do my part?

You're welcome, dear readers. You're welcome.

;-)