{great intentions...pour vous}

Hi.

I can't believe it's already been seven months since my last "check-in". I have been meaning to post... I have... {great intentions}.

I miss blogging, I miss all of you, I miss expressing myself creatively. And I have finally come to grips with the fact that it's my blog and I can blog when I want... meaning if I can only blog once a month, so be it. No need to feel bad, I'm just going to do it when I have the time and the mood strikes. No pressure. ;-)

I have a bunch of projects I'm working on in the paint/decor/furniture refinishing categories, but also suddenly have a bunch of real-life real estate work and my little one is having hernia surgery in a couple of weeks {deep breath} so I am going to give you a smattering of pictures from my house... since it's been soooo long. Peeking into others homes is one of my favorite things to do on blogs, so here is a little peek around mi casa. I have changed so many things in the last couple of years... and I still don't really know how to apply textures so I fooled around in Photoscape {not Photoshop} and this is what i came up with. Forgive me that they are terrible and not nearly as good as so many bloggers... I am learning and obviously have a lot to learn.

Scenes from my bedroom...

...an edited photo


...unedited. See?










My little $1 garage sale silver plate tray loaded with vintage bottles from antique stores, garage sales, my Grandmother's backyard, Michaels, you name it. And the little clocks {the one on the left I bought in NC at an antique fair/flea market when I was just a little girl and the one on the right was my Grandmother's and sat on her dresser} are set to my daughters birth times: 2:11 and 7:17, an idea I picked up somewhere along the way in blogland...



living room pillows... I am obsessed


A collection of sea-glass colored bottles on my dining room table... only one is old {the little one} the big one was a TJ Maxx clearance score, and the other one... well let's just say it might look like the kind Pottery Barn sells that are "found" but let's just say I "found" mine at Olive Garden, LOL, after finishing a large bottle of wine at dinner with my family one night. Suddenly I saw the bottle in a whole 'nother light and it "found" it's way into my large straw bag ;-) what can I say, I got my $ worth!




My favorite little display area in my living room...



Another of my favorite displays... this one in my entry hall on top of a bookcase. Many stories about the items here and hope to post about it soon.


"Pour Vous" the lamp I recently found at TJ Maxx... love!! {excuse me in my pajamas in the reflection!}

Hope you enjoyed the little peek around my house and thanks for sticking with me! I know I have some recent followers and you guys are the best because I know I have been very sporadic! Hope you're all doing well, enjoying your summer, and check back soon.

xoxo

Hello...

Well hello there! I've missed you.....

Thanks for checking in on me from time to time, I really appreciate it! I thought of posting so many times, but didn't have the nerve to jump back into it. Especially after such a long absence. But then I realized it has been almost 18 months (yikes!) since my last post, so here I am. How are you??? I am good, just busy with life with 2 kids, a real estate business, and so much more. But I miss you. And I have some cool things to share hopefully in the near future. So please stay tuned...

xoxo
Kari

p.s. I know I don't comment much but do know, I still read all your blogs. All of them. And I love them... I rarely miss a post.

{ ..... }

You might have noticed my blogging has all but stopped the last couple of weeks. I have been wanting to blog, but honestly have been prioritizing other things in my life. So, I have decided, with a lot of reluctance, to take a little "bloggy break" for about a month, maybe a little longer. Just gonna simplify my life a little, s l o w d o w n, enjoy my kids, exercise more, learn to knit {started that today and it's fantastic} and make some other little happy changes.

So for now I will just plan to check in with you through your blogs now and then. Thanks for all the comments, emails and love you've given me, it's been so inspirational.

Love,
Kari

{rustic} summer entertaining

With my oldest starting kindergarten in little over a month, summer's days are numbered. I want to enjoy the remaining time we have, and stay on the entertaining kick we've been on lately.

To me, the fun of entertaining buffet style {the only way we entertain at this point} is the way everything looks. Of course the food's gotta be good too. I like:

- an old linen sheet thrown over the table for a tablecloth. I've also used shower curtains that are really cute
- aluminum buckets and tins for cold drinks
- old ironstone or tarnished silver creamers for silverware {if you're concerned about the silverware touching the inside of the creamer, flop a little vintage lace out of it} I've also used small, old crystal vases with some vintage linen draped out of it, then the silverware, so cute.
- tiers of cake plates for fruit and maybe hors d'oeuvres
- rustic wire bread baskets lined with flour sack towels
- vintage ironstone or creamware plates with cheese on them
- a rustic wood cutting board with several wheels of cheese on it
- a variety of mismatched vintage silverplate serving utensils
- figs stacked on anything with a pedestal
- sangria served out of a huge glass canister with a ladle
- ice water with fruit floating in a cut glass pitcher
- everything labeled with brown paper tags tied on with jute twine
- monogrammed paper cocktail napkins from the party store or JoAnn's

My very favorite, tried-and-true, in-a-pinch {or not} dessert recipe that has brought rave reviews from everyone is my mother's cherry dessert recipe, also known as dump cake. If you are not familiar with this phenomenon, let me clue you in. You will never, ever regret making this, eating this, sharing this. No matter the occasion. This is not my photo, but mine looks very similar to this... {recipe below}

{Claudette's Cherry Dump Cake}

3 cans Comstock Cherry Pie Filling
1 box yellow cake mix
butter to taste
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Dump the pie filling in a 9x13 pan. Sprinkle the entire dry box of cake mix on top. Yes, dry. Now, melt about 4 tablespoons of butter, maybe more and drizzle on top. You might need as much as a 1/4 cup. Now sprinkle on the nuts. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until golden brown.

Voila! Rustic, delicious, amazing. Bake it in a cool rustic white baking dish and serve it just like that with a vintage spoon. My friends and family request it over and over and over. Every BBQ I go to they ask me to bring it. It can also be made with canned peaches, but that's another post.

I am so inspired to entertain in a casual, rustic, french inspired way, and the following images make it clear why this kind of entertaining is so appealing {especially since I have none of my own today}

{Maisonreve.blogspot.com}

This is my kind of entertaining. Put everything in a basket, a tin, or on a cake plate, mass it all together on a great crusty table, and let the guests have at it. Don't forget the mini chalkboard to write the menu or a message.

{countryliving.com}

Love the haphazard french chic of this image. And the champagne in the garden urn is very cool. Love the crooked lampshade.

Love the rustic aluminum bin for beer and jam jar with label.

This is a repeat image for me, but isn't it worth it? It's the epitome of rustic french entertaining.

Do I spy a burlap buffet? Yeah baby!

Love the double decker cutting boards and breadsticks in glasses.

This was for a wedding, but how fun would it be to recreate it for a party? Looks pretty easy to me.

Speaking of weddings, did you see the pictures of Magnolia Pearl's rustic wedding? They are so amazing and inspiring. Here are a few. Go here for more.

Of course, the prettiest wedding buffet, or any buffet for that matter, that I've ever seen was Elizabeth Maxson's. Images from Curious Sofa

Can you get any more inspired than this? Don't you love the baby bathtub filled with bottled water? And the chair with an ironstone serving dish on it? And breadsticks sticking out of old pitchers? I could go on and on and there were a bazillion amazing photos, but I won't. Of course this was for a more formal event, but there are so many great ideas here that could translate to your casual summer {or fall/winter} entertaining.

How are you entertaining this summer?

cutest.thing.ever.

Have I ever shared with you how I sometimes fantasize about packing the kids in the car and driving 8 hours to Disneyland? Not to see their precious little faces beam with joy at the rides, the characters, the magnitude of it all. Oh, no. That would be way too easy. It's because I KNOW THEY MAKE SILHOUETTES THERE.

Yes, I am admitting my shallowness, here in public, on my blog. It's my blog, I can do that. You see I am *dying* to get my kids silhouettes done. And I know some really crafty bloggers have done it themselves, but I am pretty unwieldy with scissors {ask my daughter and how Mommy needed 3 sheets of paper to cut out one lousy heart yesterday} and me and photo programs don't mix. I need professional help.

Well with all my obsessive compulsive monogram and family name sign searching on etsy, I stumbled upon something fantastic. Check it out -- you send these people your child's profile picture in a jpeg and they custom paint you a plaque, with your child's name, in your choice of colors, and ribbon, for a measly $25. Tell me this is not the cutest.thing.ever.



Maybe I am not rational since my little fantasy trip to the happiest place on earth would involve hotel rooms and whatnot, but $50 for two kids silhouettes on keepsake plaques seems pretty reasonable to me.

Check out all the color options. The example above is of course darling and would match Neva's room perfectly, but I think I would go more neutral so you could also use them elsewhere in your home. Maybe a cake batter plaque with an espresso silhouette and a golden ribbon? Or an espresso plaque and cake batter silhouette and ribbon? I don't know... the choices are endless. And you all know how i am with choices {still struggling over monogram choices for that pillow, girls!} Anyways, just thought it was too cute not to share. Find it here.

OK, just found this one and it's also pretty cute. Just $20 and found here.

That's it. This is the best ever. A silhouette + a monogram? Stop it. Oh yeah, $45? OK, I will stop it. But it comes framed. And it's a lot cheaper than a hotel room with Mickey Mouse carpet. Found here.

I'm sorry, I just can't stop. If you're into plates like I am, this would be such a great option. Imagine this mixed into a family portrait wall. But at $49 per plate, let's hope it doesn't fall and break. Found here.

OK, I'm done obsessing now. Good nite!