I love aprons!

Last weekend I took a day shopping trip to University Village, my favorite place to shop! It ended up being a beautiful sunny day and was perfect for the outdoor shopping experience. I love vintage inspired aprons and think all the options that Anthropoloige has right now are fabulous!

My favorite stores at U Village

Anthropologie

Ravenna Gardens

Lucy

Lululemon

J. Crew

Banana Republic

Apple Store - i love my new MacBook Pro

Favorite Scent

Kai Perfume Oil ~ I cannot get enough of this stuff. It is an intoxicating fragrance made with essential oils. I first discovered this 3 years ago at my favorite boutique Dame Lola http://www.damelola.com/ and have not been able to live without it. They also have an amazing body butter that is so fragrant you can wear it alone.
It is a fresh fragrance with hints of gardenia and not overpowering. I get so many compliments on this scent and thought I needed to share!

Inspired

from Martha Stewart Living

Peonies are one of my favorite flowers. They have a unique texture and dimension to them and smell amazing. I also am obsessed with birds nests. I love this table setting - this is going into my inspiration file.

Large, open peonies settle into nests of twisted fern vines. Inside each basket is a shallow plastic bowl of water (for extra stability, use a wire grid to hold stems in place). A smaller nest atop the napkin at each place holds a more closed flower; its stem sits in a water tube concealed within the nest.

Puppy Love

Meet Chloe,my golden retriever puppy!

One of my next events that I am planning is her puppy shower! I thought this would be a fun party for all the animal lovers out there. For some people their pets are their family and what better way to celebrate than a shower!

I am working on the invitation design this weekend and also picking up the pup party hats for all the puppy and dog guests. I will post the invitation design once it is complete.

Do you have a favorite puppy product? I would love to know, I will be giving away a bottle of wine to the best idea!

Monogrammed Woolens

One of my goals for 2009 is to learn to knit! I received two books for Christmas this year on knitting. One was Knitting for Dummies and the other a beautiful inspirational book with amazing knitting projects. I am enrolling in a beginning knitting class at The Yarn Garden yarn boutique in Gig Harbor this month have a feeling that the Knitting for Dummies book is going to be a great resource.

I love the project above because I am obsessed with monogramed things. I found this projet on Martha Stewart's website

I made this cake for our Christmas Eve celebration. It was my first attempt at an ice cream cake and it was a success! I am attending a late holiday party this month and and am bringing this as my desert. I wanted to share the recipe

Ingredients
Cooking spray
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
3/4 cup boiling water
6 tablespoons butter, melted
1 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup egg substitute
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (about 6 3/4 ounces)
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups low-fat peppermint ice cream (such as Edy's/Dreyer's Slow-Churned Light), softened
3 cups frozen fat-free whipped topping, thawed
1/8 teaspoon peppermint extract
8 peppermint candies, crushed
Preparation

Preheat oven to 350°.

Coat 2 (8-inch) round cake pans with cooking spray. Line bottom of each pan with wax paper.

Combine cocoa, water, and butter, stirring with a whisk until blended. Cool.

Combine sugars in a large bowl, stirring well until blended. Add egg substitute; beat 2 minutes or until light and creamy. Add cocoa mixture, and beat for 1 minute.

Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Gradually add flour mixture to bowl; beat for 1 minute or until blended. Stir in vanilla. Pour batter into prepared pans. Bake at 350° for 28 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pans 10 minutes on a wire rack. Remove from pans. Wrap in plastic wrap, and freeze for 2 hours or until slightly frozen.

Spread ice cream in an 8-inch round cake pan lined with plastic wrap. Cover and freeze 4 hours or until firm.

To assemble cake, place one cake layer, bottom side up, on a cake pedestal. Remove ice cream layer from freezer; remove plastic wrap. Place ice cream layer, bottom side up, on top of cake layer. Top with remaining cake layer.

Combine whipped topping and peppermint extract, and stir until blended. Spread frosting over top and sides of cake. Sprinkle with crushed peppermints. Freeze until ready to serve. Let cake stand at room temperature 10 minutes before slicing.

16 servings (serving size: 1 slice)

Nutritional Information
Calories:251 (24% from fat)
Fat:6.8g (sat 3.3g,mono 2.1g,poly 0.4g)
Protein:4.3g
Carbohydrate:44.4g
Fiber:1.7g
Cholesterol:19mg
Iron:1.6mg
Sodium:207mg
Calcium:63mg
Cooking Light, DECEMBER 2005

Unexpected Combo

I used waffle bowls to serve a healthier snack at our staff meeting this morning.
Instead of the usual combo ~ waffle bowls and ice cream ~ I used them to serve fruit & yogurt parfaits. The waffle bowls were an unexpected surprise and everyone loved them. I filled the waffle cones with Brown Cow creamy vanilla yogurt, sprinkled with granola & topped them with fresh sliced strawberries.