Jun 30, 2011

Bookshelves (Lookshelves)

My cousin recently asked me what I thought about bookshelves that are designed to showcase a book's cover, instead of the binding.  Well, I knew I loved them, especially for children's books (such a great way to encourage little ones to read), but I love them even more now that I've been gathering inspiration photos.  There are a lot of really great ideas out there.... I shared these with my cousin and I thought I'd share them with you too, since some are fairly inexpensive to buy and some look like fun to make without the high cost....

Lisa Sherry's house was photographed for a recent issue of Lonny Mag.  I love how she created such a whimsical and fun space for her family, especially these two bookshelves... what a great house for kids....

Bookshelf

Bookshelf

Ikea spice racks as bookshelves...

Lookshelf
Apologies, Source Unknown

The shelves below look like simple pine boards... John and Sherry at Young House Love have a great tutorial for creating this type of shelf...

Lookshelf

These three shelves were made here for only $20....

Lookshelf

These ones were made from old pallets.... such a great idea!!!

Lookshelf

Lookshelf
Apologies, Source Unknown

Here's two more larger sized shelves....

Lookshelf

Lookshelf

And, if you're lucky enough to have a room designated as a kid's library (or your own), like Kelly Wearstler, you could create something like this....

Bookshelf

These options are great.... and I love the color that all the books lend to a room... makes for a really fun room!  And I'm sure it would be kid-approved!!!

Where do you store your books?

Jun 29, 2011

Free Printables: Patriotic Banner

Fourth of July is fast approaching and I wanted to add patriotic colors to my house to liven the festivities as we celebrate this weekend.  One of the things I added was a banner to string across the mantel...

Flag

I created the banner and printed it....

Flag

...trimmed the edges...

Flag

Flag

...poked a few holes (one hole on each top corner of the flag)...

Flag

Flag

...strung twine along the top...

Flag

...and hung it on the mantel.... perfect!!!

Flag

Flag

I've made this available for you too, for FREE.... as always, my printables are available for personal use from me to you!  Download, print, give as gifts, or just pass along the link... have fun!!!!

Patriotic Banner

Each flag for the patriotic banner is sized to print on an 8.5 x11" paper.  Click the link above to download the pdf file, then print.  The best part is that you can decide to print each flag, print duplicates or maybe all of the same.... you can make the banner anyway you want!  Print on 8.5x11" paper (preferably white/cream colored card-stock), trim the edges, poke two holes at the top of each flag, sting twine (or ribbon) thru the top holes and hang it up... on the mantel, the staircase, the table, the wall, where-ever!  Enjoy!!!

And happy early fourth of July!!!

Linking up to The Thrifty Home, The Trendy Treehouse, Somewhat Simple, House of Hepworths, Tatertots and Jello, Funky Junk Interiors, Not So Simple Housewife and Itsy Bitsy Paper.

Jun 28, 2011

Cake Recipe - Just In Time for the Fourth

While I was visiting my parents in NY last week, my girls asked if we could make a dessert together (you've probably noticed, I have a little bit of a sweet tooth, so of course I said yes!).  We decided to make the Almond-Scented White Cake with cream cheese frosting from Williams-Sonoma and add layers and layers of berries for color to resemble our American flag, perfect for the fourth of July!

cake15

The cake was a HUGE hit.... we all loved it and definitely ate more than once piece.  Needless to say, this cake didn't sit around too long.

Ingredients for the cake:
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 Tbs. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
12 Tbs. (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. almond extract
1 cup milk
5 egg whites, at room temperature
3/4 cup raspberry preserves
Raspberries
1 1/4 cups sliced almonds

The girls love helping in the kitchen, so they sifted the dry ingredients while I mixed the butter, sugar and liquids together, then the egg whites... then we combined everything together and finally our cake mix was ready for the oven.

cake2

cake3

The recipe called for two 9" round cake pans (sliced in half horizontally once cooked), but to make it easier, I used three 8" disposable cake pans so I wouldn't have to slice anything.  I poured the batter into the cake pans and put them all in the oven at the same time to bake at 350ºF for about 22 minutes (until a toothpick inserted into the centers comes out clean).

cake4

cake5

cake6

Once the cakes were finished baking, I let them cool in the pans for 10 minutes.  Then I took the cakes out of the pans and let them cool completely on a wire rack.

cake7

Once the cakes were completely cooled, I made the frosting and decorated the cake (the girls had disappeared by now.... well, until they heard the mixer again.  Then they were asking to taste spoonfuls of frosting).

Ingredients for the cream cheese frosting:
1 lb. cream cheese, at room temperature
6 Tbs. (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/4 cups confectioners’ sugar
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 1/2 tsp. almond extract

I mixed the cream cheese and butter together using an electric mixer, then added the confectioners' sugar.  Once the mixture was smooth, I beat in the vanilla and almond extracts until it was well blended.

cake1

I put one 8" cake on a platter and spread the cream cheese frosting on the top...

cake8

Over the cream cheese frosting, I spread raspberry preserves...

cake10

cake11

Then added another cake layer on top of the preserves...

cake12

.... and spread another layer of frosting and preserves, then added the final cake layer and more frosting...

cake18

Once the layers were done and the top frosted, I spread frosting along the side...

cake19

cake20

Then pressed the almonds around the sides (and cleaned up the edges)...

cake22

cake23

... then added a ring of fresh raspberries around the bottom of the cake...

cake24

... then quartered strawberries and stood them upright around the top edge of the cake, then piled fresh blueberries in the middle...

cake17

cake16

When the cake is cut, the layers are soooo pretty!

cake14

cake13

This cake was absolutely delicious.... it was moist, creamy, fruity and perfectly sweet!

cake15

I'll be making this again for the fourth (and more throughout the year -- could be a great Christmas dessert too!).... and the husband (who is not usually a cake-eater) can't wait (me neither!)!  If you'll be making this too, Williams-Sonoma has an easy print-out of their Almond-Scented White Cake recipe here.

What will you be making for the fourth?

Linking up to Beauty and Bedlam, Not Just A Housewife, Skip To My Lou, Hope Studios, Savvy Southern Style, Somewhat Simple, Paisley Passions, Lady Behind the Curtain, The 36th Avenue, House of Hepworths, Trendy Treehouse, It's a Hodgepodge Life, Tatertots and Jello, Funky Junk Interiors, Not So Simple Housewife, I Heart Naptime, Sumo's Sweet Stuff and Lady Behind the Curtain.

Jun 27, 2011

Favorite Travel Destination: Ocean Isle Beach, NC

Centsational Girl is hosting a link party about favorite travel destinations and since we recently took a family vacation, I thought this would be the perfect time to post a few pictures from our trip to Ocean Isle Beach, North Carolina.... our ultimate favorite vacation spot!  We LOVE it... family oriented, quiet, relaxing and so, so, so peaceful.

The husband and I have traveled to Ocean Isle with the kids for the past few years during the summer months to meet up with family and friends.  We were here only a few short weeks ago.... beautiful!

Beach

Just about every morning, we'd climb up and over the dunes...

Beach

...to experience this gorgeous view...

Beach

Beach

We'd take a walk...

Beach

... search for shells...

Beach

Beach

Beach

...create a little art...

Beach

... and feel refreshed...

Beach

Ocean Isle is a tiny island on the southeastern part of North Carolina.... about an hour north of Myrtle Beach.  The beaches are fairly quiet and low-key, so our kids are free to run and explore (within a reasonable distance) and have fun.

The housing on the island is mostly residential with a few small shops and restaurants (when I say few, I mean like three or four).  We love to rent beach houses that are located on the east end of the island (we use Cooke Realty).... the tide comes in high at times on the east side, but we think it's the perfect spot for kids, especially young kids.  When the tide goes back out, there are several large size pools of water for the kids to play.... they're always catching tiny fish and crabs in their sand buckets.

Besides the east end of the island, there's several rental houses also on the west end of the island, the canal inlets, and the center part of the island (where the shops are located).  The houses range from old to new, large to small, extravagant to simple.  Here's a few of my favorites....

Beach House

Beach House

Beach House

Beach House

We (and the friends we vacation with) love to cook, so most nights we grill using fresh fish from Captain Jacks and eat on the porch.  The seafood at Captain Jacks is the best around (it's only about a 1/4 mile off the island).... the fish is fresh, clean and there's always several choices.

Captain Jacks

And when we're done grillin', our food usually looks something like this (that's a little bit of tuna and a little bit of salmon)...

Beach

After dinner or the occasional mid-day snack, we head out for some sweetness.  We have two favorites... the first is Sunset Slush.  There's a few Sunset Slushes, but we go to the one that's about a mile off the island (in between Sunset Beach and Ocean Isle Beach).... they serve Italian ice and it is yummm-meeee!

Slushy

Slushy

I usually mix the flavored ice with ice cream to make it similar to a gelati....

Italian Ice

We also go to Andy's Burgers, Shakes and Fries... it's a little further out (in Shalotte, about ten minutes), but worth the trip.  The kids love it (they waited so patiently) and believe me, Andy's piles on the custard... it's sooo creamy, so delicious....

Andy's Custard

Beach

Custard

And our last food stop is always the Sugar Shack.... our vacation wouldn't be complete without a visit here.  You're probably thinking "more sweets?".  Nope, this one is Jamaican food... and the best!  We always save this restaurant for dinner on our last night... it's so good.... it's tiny and always packed, so make reservations (they're only open for dinner)!

Sugar Shack

We like to eat pretty healthy in our house (well, besides all my sweet cravings), but at the Sugar Shack... forget it..... their Jamaican food is too good to pass up.  This is a photo of the jerk chicken and the meat just falls off the bone.... delicious.  I also recommend the mango chicken pizza.... the kids LOVE it!

Sugar Shack

A few other restaurants we've loved during our trips to Ocean Isle are The Boundary House for dinner, Fibber McGees Pub for a drink and appetizers, and Robertos for pizza.

At the end of the day, after all the beach-lounging, wave-jumping, pool-splashing and mega-eating, we love to drive to the end of the island (east end), walk the pier and watch the sunset off the inter-coastal waterway.... absolutely beautiful!

Beach

By the end of the week, the husband and I feel refreshed (while the kids are zonked and sleeping soundly!)... by the look of this picture you'd think we were vacationing in the forest.... it's really just the pathway out to the inter-coastal waterway....

Beach

Such a great vacation at Ocean Isle Beach, North Carolina.... I highly recommend vacationing here... beautiful days, amazing friends and most of all creating great memories as a family.  Happy Summer!!!

What's your favorite travel destination?

Linking up to Centsational Girl.
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