One sexy saucer…

On By Barbara StroudIn HOME, THOUGHTS2 Comments
Image: dwr.com

And you thought a saucer couldn’t be sexy? Ha. Look at the lines of this Nelson Saucer Pendant Lamp. It’s a beauty. We’ve had one for years now, and it’s been moved from dining room, to dining room (ok, so we have a furniture moving around problem… ) and now it happily resides in the kitchen. Where it makes a nice quiet statement. It says… WE. AREN’T. OLD. YET.

I love lighting that makes a statement. This says hip but not crazy, a little funky and “with it” which is so nice paired with antique pine, traditional rugs, etc. A little of the unexpected amongst traditional (expected) is always a treat to the eye.
My opinion.
Happy Monday everyone… I’ll see you back here tomorrow…
Check out my photo blog at http://almostdailypic.wordpress.com !

Art Quote… Henri Matisse

On By Barbara StroudIn ART, THOUGHTSLeave a comment
Le Lit Dans La Glace 1919 by Henri Matisse

 

Creativity takes courage.

 – Henri Matisse

 

Isn’t that the truth?! Enjoy your weekend!

Until tomorrow…

Check out my photo blog if you get a chance!

Image via www.artquotes.net

Everyday Chocolate Cake…

On By Barbara StroudIn FOOD, RecipeLeave a comment

Happy Friday everyone! I have to tell you about this amazing chocolate cake recipe that I found on the Smitten Kitchen blog. If you’ve never heard of The Smitten Kitchen, ohmygosh, check it out, seriously. Excellent recipes, hilarious writing, AMAZING PHOTOGRAPHY and just a good time overall! You may consume a bit more butter than you should, but hey, it’s a treat! I wish I could make this cake every day!

I have made this cake a few times, Deb Perelman has this recipe down to using only one bowl… easy clean up… YAY! The fresh whipped cream and raspberries that I rolled around in sugar were a nice addition… It’s the weekend, INDULGE!

Check out the Smitten Kitchen blog if you get a chance!

Here is the recipe as shown on the Smitten Kitchen blog, I didn’t change a thing:

Everyday Chocolate Cake from the Smitten Kitchen blog…
Adapted from Magnolia Bakery At Home

1/2 cup (1 stick or 4 ounces) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup (6 7/8 ounces) firmly packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup (4 ounces) granulated sugar
1 large egg, at room temperature
1 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups (6 3/4 ounces) all-purpose flour
3/4 cup (2 5/8 ounces) Dutch cocoa powder (see Smittenkitchen.com for a natural cocoa adjustment)
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt

Preheat the oven to 325°F. Butter and lightly flour a 9×5×3-inch loaf pan, or spray it with a butter-flour spray. In a large bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer, cream the butter until smooth. Add the sugars and beat until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the egg and beat well, then the buttermilk and vanilla. Don’t worry if the batter looks a little uneven. Sift the flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder and salt together right into your wet ingredients. Stir together with a spoon until well-blended but do not over mix. Scrape down the batter in the bowl, making sure the ingredients are well blended.

Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan. Bake for 60 to 70 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean. Cool in pan on a rack for about 10 to 15 minutes, at which point you can cool it the rest of the way out of the pan. Serve with whipped cream and fresh berries, if you’re feeling fancy

Artist to watch… FRANK GARDNER

On By Barbara StroudIn ART, Featured Artist, THOUGHTSLeave a comment
"Ben" by artist Frank Gardner

 

Frank Gardner… many of you have heard his name.

 Great artist, and a nice guy.

You may be familiar with the story where we met Colin Page, an artist in a cottage down the street from the one we were renting in Port Clyde, Maine. Colin invited us to their cottage on the last day to see all the paintings and WOW! I’ll save that story for another post, let me just say… what a group of amazing talent. (Frank was part of the Paintapalooza group of artists, like I said… future post)!

I have spent a great deal of time trying to find the ONE painting to post… all I can say is I can’t pick just one… this painting “Ben” is exquisite, and there are many more so you need to go check out Frank’s website. He’s in several galleries (website has links) and even a local gallery here in Charleston, SC the M Gallery of Fine Art.

Take a peak and see which your favorite is…

Remember to visit my photo blog at http://almostdailypic.wordpress.com ! Until tomorrow…

A big bold nice and not expensive wine…

On By Barbara StroudIn FOOD, HOME, THOUGHTSLeave a comment
mcmanisfamilyvineyards.com

We were in Rockland, Maine at a neat little wine shop (future post). We asked for a nice Syrah that wasn’t too pricey and they suggested McManis Petite Syrah. Whew… it quickly became a favorite… very tasty, not in the under $10 category which is nice for everyday, well, the one glass a day, you know, for medicinal reasons… wish it was more than one glass though, hee hee… Fast forward to a few weekends ago, we went to Total Wine hoping to find this a tad cheaper, they don’t carry the Petite Syrah, but they did have Syrah… well, I’ll try it! And… YIPEE, it’s great, and it’s in the under $10 category. You could tell me it is an expensive bottle of wine and I would never know the difference. So if you like bold wines (at least in my book it’s bold) give this one a shot!

From the McManis Family Vineyard website:
 2008 Syrah
“Do not overlook this incredibly reliable and tasty Syrah as a great choice for everyday drinking. It is ripe and open, about mid-size in depth and full enough on the palate to let you know that you have a wine of reasonable substance in your mouth, and it will comfortably hold its own with burgers and other savory picnic fare when a wine that will go down in a gulp is in order.”   86 Points Good Value
Connoisseurs Guide to California Wine March 2010

Remember to visit my photo blog at http://almostdailypic.wordpress.com ! Until tomorrow…

Neat little shop in Charleston…

On By Barbara StroudIn HOME, THOUGHTS4 Comments
Image: http://southofmarket.biz/

What a beautiful weekend in Charleston, SC! WOW! We got out and went to a few shops. Fred noticed that South of Market, a neat little shop in Charleston, SC had those wonderful cotton canvas throws that we love so much… ON SALE! This is a neat shop, but you really need to pack the plastic… it’s not cheap, and I can’t remember there being many sales, but woohoo… we bought a red throw ON SALE!  (I know, not a color we EVER would have picked, but this is a GORGEOUS washed red. It looks like an old favorite throw that you’ve had for years and perhaps left in the sunroom part of the time. I LOVE WASHED RED… ) .

This photo is from their website http://southofmarket.biz/ … this is a great room, I love all those windows! So if you’re in the neighborhood, pop in to South of Market on King Street downtown, and while you’re there pop into the Sylvan Gallery which is also right there… GREAT GALLERY!

Check out my photo blog at http://almostdailypic.wordpress.com Until tomorrow…

Artist to watch… KEN DEWAARD

On By Barbara StroudIn ART, Featured Artist, THOUGHTS2 Comments
KenDewaard.com

An artist friend of ours told us about an artist friend of his.

WHAT AWESOME WORK!

My husband surprised me last year with a painting and said that he was a great guy to deal with. Oh, what a GREAT surprise! I loved the panting and I LOVE IT WHEN ARTISTS ARE NICE! I don’t know about you, but if I really like the artist, I want to collect MORE of their work. I wouldn’t feel comfortable buying a painting from an artist who I didn’t admire or at the very least like…  I just really like Ken’s work, the colors, the light… ahhhh.

If you haven’t checked out Ken’s work, do so now! He’s got a great website (ugh, so frustrating when artists websites don’t get updated… BRAVO to those of you who do update regularly, it must be a real challenge to those of you who paint, blog and update websites! It is much appreciated, believe me)!  Check it out!

 http://www.kendewaard.com/

Until tomorrow… Remember to visit my photo blog at http://almostdailypic.wordpress.com!

Every child is an artist…

On By Barbara StroudIn ARTLeave a comment
Image: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don_Quixote_(Picasso)

I thought I would do weekends a little differently, this weekend… art quotes for your reading pleasure! Today… Pablo Picasso…

Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up.
Pablo Picasso

Isn’t that the truth… so easy to draw loosely as a child, but a real challenge for most grownups!

Quote via artquotes.net

Baked Potato Soup with all the trimmings!

On By Barbara StroudIn FOOD, Recipe, soup, Soup, THOUGHTSLeave a comment
potato soup in a pretty bowl, topped with shredded sharp cheddar, bacon and green onions
Image: http://www.MyRecipes.com

Sometimes when you’re chilly there is nothing like a nice hot bowl of soup to get your innards warmed up. Other than vacuuming, there really isn’t anything that is going to warm you up from the inside out!

This tasty soup is from Cooking Light, and although it uses lower fat ingredients, if no one told you there were lower fat ingredients, I promise you, you would never know. NEVER. KNOW. That’s part of what makes this such a good recipe. It’s a fairly quick soup to make after the potatoes are baked. Mmmm, this is looking too good right now!!

So, if you were sitting there thinking… Ugh, I’m in a rut and need to try something new but want it to be pretty healthy, hey, this is for you!

I use Cracker Barrel 2% Extra Sharp cheese, it’s great, and it’s my “go to” cheese for recipes. It’s in every grocery store in Charleston, but I know other areas don’t carry it (Algonac, MI, darnit!). Serving size is 1 1/2 cups and let me tell ya… you will be full! Especially after adding a sprinkle of shredded extra sharp cheese, some green onions and some crispy bacon… oh la la… I edited the recipe to show less flour, otherwise it was too thick for us.

BAKED POTATO SOUP  

Baked Potato Soup

Ingredients

  • 4 baking potatoes (about 2 1/2 pounds)
  • 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
  • 6 cups 2% reduced-fat milk
  • 1 cup (4 ounces) reduced-fat shredded extrasharp cheddar cheese, divided
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 cup reduced-fat sour cream
  • 3/4 cup chopped green onions, divided (or 1 small bunch, whites cut off)
  • 6 bacon slices, cooked and crumbled
  • Cracked black pepper (optional)

Preparation

  • Preheat oven to 400°.
  • Pierce potatoes with a fork; bake at 400° for 1 hour or until tender. Cool. Peel potatoes; coarsely mash.
  • Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Place flour in a large Dutch oven; gradually add milk, stirring with a whisk until blended. Cook over medium heat until thick and bubbly (about 8 minutes). Add mashed potatoes, 3/4 cup cheese, salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper, stirring until cheese melts. Remove from heat.
  • Stir in sour cream and 1/2 cup onions. Cook over low heat 10 minutes or until thoroughly heated (do not boil). Ladle 1 1/2 cups soup into each of 8 bowls. Sprinkle each serving with 1 1/2 teaspoons cheese, 1 1/2 teaspoons onions, and about 1 tablespoon bacon. Garnish with cracked pepper, if desired.

Catch you back here tomorrow!

Bowen’s Island Restaurant – Charleston, SC

On By Barbara StroudIn FOOD, THOUGHTS4 Comments

Image: BowensIslandRestaurant.com

For those of you who have eaten at Bowen’s Island Restaurant, you know… You know how utterly awesome the view is… it takes your breath away. Seriously. TAKES. IT. AWAY. The fried shrimp is oh so tasty and I absolutely just cannot wait to have some! Visitors soon (yay!) and we will be making our way to the place that great photos are made from… and it sure doesn’t hurt that the food is tasty too!

Good grief, I just did something I shouldn’t have. I looked at the menu! Their prices aren’t bad at all, and now I’m really wanting some of their fried shrimp… check out the menu… you’ll be running at the speed of light, jumping in your car, hearing a big peel out noise, wondering where it came from before you even realize you’re in your car, headed right where all the real seafood lovers go… and that aint Red Lobster… hee hee…

Read the restaurant review “Shucking and sucking” it’s more of a story, ha ha – Bowen’s Island is known for their oysters!

Check out my photo blog at http://almostdailypic.wordpress.com ! Until tomorrow…

Swans Island Blankets – simply stunning!

On By Barbara StroudIn HOME2 Comments

Image: SwansIslandblankets.com

One of the most beautiful blankets you can buy is from Swans Island Blankets located in Northport, Maine. If you’re ever in the area, STOP BY, you can watch them weave blankets and they have a sample blanket of each and every style, along with an assortment of other things such as throws, scarves and more recently, their own yarn! We splurged several years ago and bought a rare wool blanket like the one pictured here. What’s so rare about it you ask? Here’s a blip from the Swans Island website:

Swans Island Rare Wool blankets are made from naturally occurring brown and black sheep. These sheep aren’t common, and after three or four years, their fleeces tend to go grey, so we are only able to weave a limited number of rare brown and black wool blankets each year.

It will be around for generations! It’s absolutely a work of art, no doubt about it!

Check out my Photo Blog if you get a chance, http://almostdailypic.wordpress.com – until tomorrow!

Artist Charles Movalli, whoa!

On By Barbara StroudIn ART, Featured Artist, THOUGHTS, TRAVELLeave a comment
Image: BayviewGallery.com

Bayview Gallery has a wonderful collection of Charles Movalli’s work. I think his colors are fresh. I am drawn to his pallette.  What can I say, some people love other stuff, we love art. LOVE. IT. Me, being the aspiring (ok, so that’s stretching it) artist that I am really appreciates OTHER peoples art. It facinates me how they make it happen. There is nothing I would rather do than to watch someone paint. You know why? IT’S LIKE MAGIC! I will watch and be “in the zone” and I’M NOT EVEN THE ONE PAINTING! Ha ha… I watch carefully and I think, I TOO CAN DO THIS… but then to try… whoa… another story indeed. I’m not saying I’m bad, I’m just not good, but I need to paint more often, so… Someone out there, give me an assignment. My biggest hangup is WHAT to paint? I keep trying to find something easy enough and I end up spending all my time searching for WHAT and then TADA… time to make dinner… I think I need to master painting indoors before I can move the great outdoors. So with that being said… any takers? hee hee.

If you’re in Maine and are in Camden or Brunswick, stop by Bayview Gallery! This is a little blip about artist Charles Movalli from the Bayview Gallery website:
Holder of a PhD. in English, Gloucester painter Charles Movalli uses dramatic brushwork to capture the essence of a scene. A student of Emille Gruppe, Movalli has received more than fifty awards for his vibrant work.
 
Visit my photo blog at http://almostdailypic.wordpress.com – until tomorrow!

Cookies for Valentine’s Day, a work of art!

On By Barbara StroudIn FOOD, Recipe, THOUGHTS1 Comment

Aren’t these the most beautiful Valentine’s Day cookies you’ve ever seen? I admit, I haven’t seen many cookies for this holiday, well, not if you exclude the mass produced variety at the grocery store…  These take a little bit of time, but ooooh, the result is A WORK OF ART! I last posted this recipe on my PHOTO BLOG (click for link) for Christmas cookies, but here it is again, I hope you give them a try! This time I made the dough on Friday, got busy on Saturday, then set them out on the counter for a little while on Sunday before rolling and cutting into heart shapes and baking. The decorating part looks like the most time consuming, but if you don’t get too uptight about it (me) and can just swirl it on (Fred, my husband) then it looks beautiful and is done in a snap! Wishing you a Happy Valentine’s Day!

VALENTINE’S DAY BUTTER COOKIES

Sift 2 3/4 cups of flour, 1 teaspoon baking powder and 1/2 teaspoon of salt.

In mixer bowl add 3/4 cup soft butter, 1 cup sugar, 2 eggs, 1 teaspoon vanilla.

Beat until fluffy and light. Slowly beat in flour mixture. CHILL ONE HOUR.

Flour your work surface and roll out dough. Use cookie cutters to cut into desired shapes.

Place on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 375 degrees for 8-10 minutes.

YIELD: 4 dozen (IF you don’t eat the dough… good luck to ya!)

FROSTING

Mix 1/4 cup butter, 4 cups (1 box) confectioner’s sugar, 1/4 cup scalded cream and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Blend until smooth. Scoop into separate bowls and add food coloring (hint: Valentine cookies are good just red, light pink and white). Scoop colored frosting into Ziplock bag (I use freezer) and snip a little off the corner. Squeeze onto cookie to decorate! If you need the frosting thinned a bit more, I have great luck just using light cream, add a little at a time until it will easily come out of the bag to decorate.