Lemon Blueberry Trifle

My friend made this for our small group a few weeks ago and my taste buds danced- never mind the fact I'm currently a little nuts-o about blueberries. There's a guy at our local farmers market that has the BEST blueberries- oh my- I've probably spent over $100 this season on blueberries alone. We froze 10 pints of them so I can make blueberry pie this Thanksgiving along with blueberry pancakes and blueberry scones all Fall and Winter long. It's my nod to Little House and the Prairie (I love that book!) Anyway- I digress (I do that often...) I begged and pleaded on my knees for the recipe (actually, I emailed her and she emailed me back...in like 15 minutes- what a gal!) It is SO good- I made it the other night for my mom's last night visiting here (she had been here for 3 weeks- oh how I miss her!) Check it out, then do yourself a favor and make it...and try to not eat it all in one sitting...with the bowl between your legs and a spoon in your hand watching Cake Boss (not that I speak from experience...)

Ingredients:

* 1 frozen prepared pound cake (16 oz)

* 1 lemon

* 1 1/2 cups milk

* 1 (8oz) container sour cream

* 1 container cool whip

* 2 packages (3.4 oz each) lemon instant pudding

* 1 pint blueberries

* 1 square (1 oz) white chocolate for baking (I used 1 oz white chocolate chips and food processed the heck out of them)

Cut pound cake into 1 inch cubes. Zest one lemon and set aside. Juice the lemon and sprinkle lemon juice over pound cake and toss gently. Combine milk, sour cream, half of the cool whip, and reserved lemon zest, whisk until smooth. Add pudding mix, whisk until begins to thicken.

Set aside 10 blueberries for garnish. To assemble place 1/3 of the cake on the bottom, top with 1/3 blueberries, grate 1/4 of chocolate over, and top with 1/3 of the pudding mix. Repeat layers 2 more times. Use remaining cool whip to make rosettes or dollops on top- place a blueberry on each dollop and sprinkle remaining chocolate on top.

**side note- I used all of the cool whip in the mixture- whoops!- but it still tasted heavenly.**

:) Katie

So much to share!

Good grief! Has it been long enough? I go into summer every year dreaming about carefree days where much will get accomplished and all will be happy and tanned by the end of it and about halfway through I wake up. We are one busy crew here! Especially add to it the fact that I'm now 15 weeks pregnant (yipee!) and exhaustion pretty much made the first half of the summer nothing but a hot, sunshiney blur. It's been like 900 degrees here for about the last 2 months- I believe we skipped right over spring and got into the dead of summer within a matter of days and here we stand. So- not only do I have 2 beasties to chase after, but I'm 15 weeks pregnant, trying desperately to NOT gain 60 lbs with this one (it's ugly...really, really ugly), and possibly living on the surface of the sun- whew! BUT, I'm back (for now) and boy do I have a lot to share...we have the craft room set up (it's not quite done yet- but almost!) and I LOVE IT!! The color is perfect, the crown Derek and Nate put up is perfect, the furniture is perfect (I'll tell you about my cutting table another time) and it's a great spot to go and create. Never mind the fact I have about 30 unfinished projects or things I'd like to do (which I should probably do in the next 5 months- I somewhat recall newborns being kind of a time-suck...that's all a blur too...) Anywho- I'm back and ready to post! Maybe when school starts it'll be better?? Maybe not...

:) Katie

We Went Here!

On Monday, we took a spontaneous trip to an architectural salvage warehouse in Charlotte called Crossland Studio, and had so much fun looking at all of the beautiful old pieces. To name a few things, there were doors, windows, mantles, chairs, door knobs, sinks, bathtubs, barber chairs, stair spindels, cash registers, and Katie's favorite, church pews.

Everything was old, some things refinished, some not.  We both have hopes of someday shopping there as we design our custom built, new but looks old, homes (don't remind our husbands, moving is still too fresh in both of their memories).

The church pew was Katie's favorite find

We both coveted this for our craft rooms.  Too bad it was $$$$$ and neither of us will probably ever buy it, but it was beautiful and functional, and either of us could easily fill it with all of our junk.

My prize for the day was a nickel plated hook to go in our powder room.  We repainted the powder room almost a year ago, and at that time removed the $4 builders special towel rack.  It looks much more appropriate over the wash tub in the garage than it did in my powder room.  Since I removed the eyesore and had N. patch the wall to remove all traces that the ugliness was ever in my home, I haven't found something to replace it that lives up to my expectations.

I know that it's just a towel hook, but I just expect too much sometimes.  I want to LOVE everything I buy for my home.  If we're shopping for a lamp because we have a dark corner that needs to be lit up, if I can't find something I LOVE, I drag N. out of the store and tell him the corner can stay dark for a little longer until I fall in love with the perfect lamp.  This also explains why I have such a mismatch of furniture, an unpainted front hall, and general sparseness when it comes to home decor.  In the front hall, it's probably just a $30 gallon of paint, but I've been unable to select the perfect color that will tie together my buttery yellow kitchen, latte colored family room, tin colored dining room, and my red accent walls.  But the paint color can wait for another day, because after a year, I finally found something I LOVE for the powder room, and bought it.  It also helps me know that I can't walk into seven other people's houses and find the exact thing, which happens frequently when I shop Target or IKEA.

And in regards to all of the beautiful windows, doors mantles and furniture, we'll browse, scheme, plan and dream about where to put that Craftsman style leaded glass window, or which doors need vintage glass knobs someday.  So many things to choose from, and only two houses to put them in!  Here's the video tour of Crossland!

Fabric Covered Lamp- Tutorial

Ahhhh- our first official tutorial! So I'm officially obsessed with Mod Podge- it's a wonderful creation and I've been mod podging everything- my husband is a little scared- I can see it in his eyes. Anywho- the other day, I was organizing The Beasties playroom (for about the 50th time this year) and I noticed the sad little lamp sitting on their book case. It's from Ikea and the base is black and the shade is white. If you know me at all- that's so BORING!! So I decided to introduce the lamp shade to my new love- Mod Podge! The result? A super cute, girly lamp shade that looks awesome in their playroom. Check it out below!

Tape 4 pieces of scrap paper together (recycle baby!)

Set the shade to the edge of the paper and using a pencil, along the outside edge of the shade, trace the path of the shade as you roll it.












like this...
(like my posed hand? I'm not left handed...but I needed to be for the picture...)












It should look like this when you're done...












Cut out the pattern and lay it on your material (isn't this material super cute??)
(make sure the pattern is going the right way- I cut out two that were upside down...scrap pile!)












Cut it out leaving about 1/4 inch clearance on all sides...












Get your Mod Podge...hello love!












Using a nasty foam brush leftover from another craft (and apparently not washed in time...) smear the Mod Podge on your shade- one row at a time (so it doesn't dry on you) and adhere the fabric- rubbing it to get any air bubbles out.












Run some Mod Podge along the lip of the shade and fold the material over the edge.
(on a side note- I've realized I'll never be a hand model...)












Set the shade right side up and admire your work.


















Attach to the lamp base and show all your friends- viola! You're done -go you!