I love sales!

Did you know that spending money actually helps with emotional problems? I guess I now fully understand the term "retail therapy." Unfortunately, our current economy isn't really supporting my need. So, I'm shopping the sales! And TJMax and Marshalls ... thank God for Homegoods.

So, dining room renovations, part I... new curtains! On sale for dirt cheap at West Elm. What do you think?

(Oh, and yes...that's a new paint color too. Kind of latte/cappuccino-ish, don't you think?)

I covet...

That ribbon...

Those boxes...

That chair...

This office!

Hmm, come to think of it, I kinda want to BE Mackenzie Sala.

{Source.}

Snarkiness abounds

Books get me through it, so I've been a voracious reader lately. And I have a few recommendations that will be coming your way. Today, two:

Bitter is the New Black.

She writes all those things you think but never dare say. And, believe it or not, this one might make you feel a little better about things. Or, it could freak you out if you know a lot of people currently losing their jobs. But heck, either way you with laugh (out loud)! (Bonus: author's blog is a hoot!)

The Girl with the Dragon Tatoo.

This, I promise, you will not be able to put down. But be sure you can clear your calendar for it, because you will be addicted, 50 pages in. You think I'm kidding? Evidence: I woke up at 4 a.m. one Sunday to finish and read straight through until 11 a.m. AND we had guests that weekend!

Lovely pottery

Loving these organic pieces.

A few lovelies

We are in the market for some one-of-a-kind artwork for our house ... and what better place to spend hours shopping/hunting that Etsy. Oh, etsy, how I've missed you.

A few that caught my eye:

Rachel Austin

Lori Mirabelli (how awesome is that name!?)

Karen Fields Gallery

Where I've been...

Where to start? I don't usually like to mix my personal life with my "professional," but alas I feel as though I must explain my absence from this blog. And really, who am I kidding? Everything about this blog is personal! How many times have you all seen my kitchen and wedding pics?

Long story short (operative word), it all comes down to having a little one. For about a year, my husband and I have been struggling with infertility - daily doctor's appointments, injections, and other sordid procedures. It's been an adventure, to say the least; and I've been hidden in this scarred and worried little world, unable to break out, unable to see the light.

I will save you the details of the ebbs and flows of this "journey," but suffice it to say I am learning and growing a lot. I've been very open about this, telling almost anyone who will listen, because I just don't think that people talk about it enough. We are extremely hopefully that good things will happen for us, but that is now out of our control.

So, I hope you will understand why my blog roll has been crowded with fertility blogs lately and why, though I've drafted a million and one posts, I haven't made anything live since Thanksgiving (pathetic, really.) At the end of the day, the bottom line is that blogging made me happy, and I'm trying - very hard - to get back on the horse. I hope you all will forgive an occasional rant, and that I can fill in the space with wonderful finds for the home, kitchen, baby, bride, you-name-it!

(My husband just saw that I was blogging and screamed "YAYYYYY!" Cute, right? Also, he said I should post a picture of my new computer ... another motivating factor to getting on here again!)

Gobble, Gobble!

Check out this awesome centerpiece idea from Parents Magazine! Isn't he adorable?

Update your bookmarks

One of my favorite bloggers is switching locations! Be sure to bookmark the new blog, Pretty Good. Beautiful, wonderful photographs to make you smile.

Oh, green...

The most fantastic shoes I've seen in ages...And, you should see the dress! Click below to drool....

{Source.}

I've found the most amazing house

I'm mesmerized by this tiny little house in the Catskills (formerly a one-room school house.)

More pictures

{Source: Country Living, via Tiny White Bungalow.)

Apple cranberry brandy pie

I tried out this incredible pie from Sunset magazine this weekend, and I think I've found a definite win for a Thanksgiving pie. Delicious!

Ingredients

1/4 cup brandy
1/4 cup currants
1 1/2 cups fresh or thawed frozen cranberries
About 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
6 tbsp. plus 1 cup unbleached or all-purpose flour
1 tbsp. finely grated fresh orange zest
3/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp. salt
6 cups sliced peeled Granny Smith apples
(about 2 1/4 lbs.)
10-inch pie pastry for a single-crust pie
2/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup (1/4 lb.) butter, cut into chunks

Instructions

In a bowl, combine brandy and currants. Cover; let stand until currants are plump, at least 1 hour or up to 1 day.

Pick through cranberries, rinse, and drain.

Preheat oven to 375[degrees]. In a large bowl, mix 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar, 6 tbsp. flour, orange zest, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. With a slotted spoon, transfer currants from brandy (reserve brandy) to sugar mixture; add cranberries and apples and mix well. Add more granulated sugar if desired. Pour filling into unbaked pie pastry and drizzle with brandy.

In another bowl, mix 1 cup flour and brown sugar. Add butter and cut in with a pastry blender or rub with your fingers until mixture forms small lumps. Sprinkle topping over filling. Set pie in a foil-lined 10- by 15-inch baking pan.

Bake on bottom rack until juices bubble, 55 to 65 minutes. If pie browns too quickly, cover loosely with foil.

Printing Project I

I'm helping my best friend with some printed items for her wedding in two weeks, and I'm therefore giving my new printer a run for the money. Project #1: these little tags for the favor bags.

Eleni's

How cute is this box of wedding cookies from Eleni's New York? I don't know how I resisted it when we were in New York recently. It would make a wonderful surprise wedding treat.

I'm also LOVING these Obama cookies! Great for that upcoming inauguration party in January.

Vote!

I'm off today and we'll be hitting the streets trying to get out the vote. It could be all about PA today! Fingers and toes are crossed.

My love affair with a printer

As you may know, I'm an editor on an amazing and wonderful social networking site, Kirtsy. There are many perks to the job, not least of which are the FABULOUS ladies that I work with. Another recent perk was an introduction to the One2One Network, "a national matrix of thousands of socially-connected women who actively promote products and services they believe in."

The introduction came with one pretty spectacular bonus ... a new printer! I was in desperate need of one. Mine was kaput, and I have been forced recently to print invitations and the like from an area printer. Well, phew, those days are in the past. I now have Epson's Artisan 800 All-in-One printer.

You may think I'm just saying fabulous things because I got a new printer ... I'm really not that easily won over, and I totally would have been a crank if this thing wasn't so ridiculously cool.




Here are a few of my favorite features... 1) It has a flat, touch screen. Seriously. 2) It has two printing trays, so I can keep photo paper in it at all times, and switch out my card stocks as needed. 3) The color is AMAZING! I've printed several test pictures, and they are completed lickety-split with absolute flawlessness. You'd never know this was a home printer. 3) It's sleek and easy to use. My husband and I have been fighting over it lately. (No surprise that I usually win out.)

In addition, the printer is WiFi, so I'm literally hooked up now and it's printing upstairs. Pretty stinkin' cool!



So, if you're in the market, be sure to look here for more information! Also, stay tuned because I'm be featuring some printing projects in the next few days!

From time to time you may see product reviews from me now, but I promise you this ... I will not be biased. If I don't think something is up to par, I'm going to warn you! And, if you're interested and have time, be sure to check out the One2One Network and sign up to participate as well!