Heaven Ornament

Ashley really wanted to give these to her Grandma Leslie and Henry since Grandma Sally died this year. She is so sentimental. Sadly we were unable to find any. So we will have to make a bookmark today before the festivities.

I did just find this link though...

Heaven in our home christmas ornament by princessklb07
Shop for a new Christmas tree ornament

Lost in Potomac- mansion sightseeing

So today I was actually lost. I say "actually" because although I often can't find my way I still maintain a sense of orientation. Today that was gone. It may have been because I was quite fond of the road I found myself on...that would be River Road in Potomac Maryland.

Did you know that Potomac has the 7th most expensive real estate in the country? I believe it!

The homes are from 24,000 to 40,000 square feet. But my very favorite part was the variety. The home styles vary from Colonial to Normandy to French Neo-Classic.

Here's a peek at some of the ones I got to see.

Oh what a lovely driveway...

Love the garage and driveway. Oh, and don't forget the pool house...

Almost 40,000 square feet? At least your thighs would get a workout on all the stairs, but then again who needs that with a gym in the house?

Now, you may be wondering why I am sharing this. It is not that I aspire to have a home like this one day. Nor that I wish I were rich. It is because right now everyone is checking out the lovely Christmas lights and this trip was just as exciting as that. It was amazing and beautiful and jaw-dropping! (with some adrenaline seeing as I was seriously LOST!!)

Thanksgiving Sweet Potato Rolls

Last week my friend made sweet potato rolls that were so good I just had to try my hand at them. However, since she is out of town and I couldn't find a recipe that sounded like what she described I had to create my own recipe. She had mentioned cardamom and of course, I forgot to add it! (forgetting stuff is my biggest problem when I don't go by a recipe)

I seriously miscalculated how wet the potatoes would be so instead of making 24 rolls it made 40 round rolls. They are fluffy and moist (very much like a regular old potato roll!).

Sweet Potato Roll Recipe
1 1/2 cups warm water
2 Tblsp. yeast
1/2 cup sugar
1 tbsp. salt
1 cup sweet potato, cooked and mashed
2 eggs
1/2 cup butter, melted
1/3 cup dry powdered milk
5-6 cups flour (or 7 or 8, I sort of lost count)

Activate the yeast in the warm water and sugar. Beat in salt, potato, eggs, butter, powdered milk and 3 cups of flour. Beat for 5 minutes or until smooth and glossy. With dough hook knead in the remaining flour. Your dough should be stiff with a slight stickiness to the touch, maybe due to the starch in the potatoes. It shouldn't stick to your fingers though.

Set in a warm place and let it rise to double. I like to warm my oven up a little until it feels like I could crawl in there to take a nap and put the dough in there.

Punch the dough down and let it rest a few minutes while you butter up a cookie sheet. Roll your little balls of dough and place them about a finger apart from each other on the cookie sheet. I fit all 40 on one large sheet.

Let rise until almost double. Preheat oven to 400. Bake for 12-15 minutes. Brush tops with butter while hot.

Serve with cinnamon honey butter. Enjoy!

Pumpkin Pie & Buttermilk Crust Recipe

In preparation for Thanksgiving I made this pie...

and thought I'd share my recipe for pumpkin pie with a fabulous flakey pie crust.  I love this recipe because it just has a few ingredients and it always sets up perfectly for me.

Pumpkin Pie Recipe
1 9 inch pie crust, unbaked
2 cups pumpkin puree
1 can sweetened condensed milk (14 oz)
2 eggs
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp cardamom
1/2 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 425.

Prepare crust. Beat pumpkin, sweetened condensed milk and eggs. Mix in spices and salt. Pour into prepared pie crust.

Bake at 425 for 15 minutes. Turn heat down to 350 and cover the crust with foil. Bake at 350 for another 35 minutes.

Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack. Refrigerate. Serve with whipped cream.

Buttermilk Pie Crust Recipe
2 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/3 cup oil
1/3 cup buttermilk

Cut dry ingredients together with butter and oil. Mix in buttermilk. Do not over mix. Rollout and place in a 9 inch pie pan. Cut the edges and pipe them. There should be some extra dough after you have cut the edges off.

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Fall 2012 Shoe Trends

It is hunting season here in Idaho. So, as all the men in town go out hunting I am ready to do some hunting of my own. Every Fall I look forward to learning the new shoe trends and hunting down the best deals.


This morning I slipped my foot into a soft suede boot that's been in storage for 5 months. It felt heavenly and I decided to share the boot trends first.

If you slouch boots, never fear! it is still part of this years' style. However, this Fall you get to put aside "Pirates of the Caribbean" and welcome your inner biker. The boot style for today is buckles upon buckles.

And did I mention zippers? Colored zippers?

Heels on boots are wide or flat (which is great for the snowy places).

Now onto the flats. Here we are looking for gold and silver embellishments (from toe to heel).

Chains....

 Gems...

Heel tags and tipped toes (primarily metallic)...

And finally, the creme de la creme, my favorites, pumps... or as some like to call them "stilettos".

The trend that I cannot yet embrace is fur, so this tulle is as close as I'll get....

Straps and studs....

And if you are thinking these are all too biker/punk/rocker for you the vintage style Mary Janes are a great choice (I love that they speak to the dancer in me)... 

Last of all, we have the shoe I will dream of wearing on my next date with my dear husband (at $1200 it will have to stay in my imaginary shoe closet).

There you have it. This years' best trends for every occasion.

Happy shoe hunting!!

Now aren't you glad I stopped drooling long enough to share these amazing new trends with you? ;o)

P.S. I just re-read this to check out the furry shoes that my dearest friend from years ago said she quite liked (that's my spunky little Heather) and realized I forgot the snake or croc skin. Yep! Just like most every other Fall, skin is in. In every color. With spikes and spurs. Sequined or studded. Get the picture? Well, my favorites were these darling yellow ones. Besides the fact that I have an uncommonly strong weakness for yellow, I think the addition of a wood layered heel and platform finalized the natural femininity of this pump.

**Pictures are from 6pm and Zappos