for Friendship

Signs of My Life

I'm running quite late this morning as I stayed way past my bedtime- on a school night- meeting up with my college roommate. We hadn't seen each other in 11 years but it was just like old times. It's funny how (ideally), spending your first chunk of time away from home, and realizing you're not the smarty-pants you thought you were, with another person from whom you are quite different, can create lasting bonds. J transferred from our college after the first semester, but I treasured our times together.

In celebration of friendship, here are a few pieces of art on the topic. Isn't it amazing the diversity and availability of art?

Keith Mallett

Heidi Malott

Loren Grey via Art Post Gallery

Go call up an old friend!

-Emmie

READ MORE - for Friendship

When the Cat's Away...

Mr. Southern is out of town for work. While this used to happen far more often, his trips have decreased (while mine, on the other hand, have definitely picked up!). While of course I miss him, it is admittedly nice to have a moment of solitaire (if you can call hanging out out with four dogs solitaire).

Of course, me in the house unchaperoned with several projects on the agenda is asking for trouble. You see, Mr. Southern is an Engineer. Born into a family of engineers. This means that he does not "measure twice, cut once." This means that he measures three times, walks away from a project in case the measurements change, comes back, measures three or four more times, studies intently, and then cuts. I, on the other hand, am more of an instant-gratification kind of girl, preferring to measure once, and then cut about 50 times to get it right. This applies to just about everything- determining where to plant something, where to hang a picture, hang curtain rods, paint, etc. Clearly his way is better, but it seems to take much longer.

Without Mr. Southern's precision, I was free to hang my recent purchases from One Kings Lane. I managed to score two of the Anemone botanical prints a few weeks ago after debating with myself whether I needed them or not. I was looking for two square pieces of art and these were a veritable bargain! And it had been a while since I purchased from the gals at OKL.

I actually cut out squares from wrapping paper and hung them on the wall so I could determine exactly (read: pretty much) where I wanted them. I am sort-of breaking the art rules, I guess, as neither is really at eye level. Hmm. Here they look a little close together.


Unfortunately, I stink at cutting in a straight line so I couldn't show you the white squares on the wall. But here they are hung.

Hopefully, this gives you some perspective of the scale. I think it looks OK, what do you think? I could probably add a little more space (there is an inch between the two now) but given that this corner typically houses a dog bed, I didn't want to hang the bottom frame too low.

At least Mr. Southern will be home tonight to fix anything amiss. On the bright side, I only ended up with three nail holes for two pictures- that is pretty good!

And, please pardon my sappiness, but another example of my "opportunities" is my inability to make coffee properly any more, since Mr. Southern kindly makes it for me every morning. In my last attempt, I didn't put the filter in properly and we had coffee all over the counter.

So this is what I found when I awoke this morning.


Awww... isn't he sweet! (and for the record, while I am taking a vacation day today, I was up before 8:42AM, I just didn't photograph it right away!!)

Have a fun weekend!

-Emmie

READ MORE - When the Cat's Away...

Lovely Lemons- Baking Traditional Home's Cake and Gardening

It's been a while since I've done a cooking post, probably because I've not done much cooking of late! Over the weekend though, I used our cul-de-sac Easter Egg Hunt party as the perfect excuse to try out the Lemmon Poppy Seed Coconut cake featured in this month's Traditional Home Magazine. Truth be told, the recipe did not actually appear in the magazine and readers "lit up" TH's Facebook page. (I wonder if that means Traditional Home will no longer feature fabulous food photos or if they'll start offering recipes? Design and good food seem to go along so well together. Remember Met Home's fabulous recipes?)

It's a slightly complicated, yet not terribly difficult recipe. And the results are worth it. Here it is, interspersed with my pictures.

Lemon Poppy-Seed Layer Cake

Prepare Lemon Curd filling the day before you bake the cake. Chill overnight.

Note: Forgot to make ahead of time. Put in fridge for the initial stage of cooling and then the freezer for a bit. Worked fine.

Lemon Curd (see recipe)

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened

1-3/4 cups sugar

3 tablespoons finely shredded lemon peel (from 3 large lemons)

4 large eggs

1/3 cup fresh lemon juice

2 teaspoons lemon extract

3 cups cake flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup buttermilk

3 tablespoons poppy seeds

Coconut Buttercream Frosting (see recipe)

4 cups natural raw chip coconut (about 5 to 6 ounces), toasted*

Note: I used regular bagged coconut and it was fine!

Fresh strawberries

Prepare Lemon Curd. Cover; chill at least 8 hours.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour two (9x1-1/2 inch) round baking pans. Set aside. In very large mixing bowl, beat butter, sugar, and lemon peel on medium speed until light and fluffy, scraping sides of bowl occasionally. Beat in eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in lemon juice and lemon extract. (Mixture may look curdled.)
Note: it looked very curdled. Not to worry!

In another large bowl combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add flour mixture and buttermilk alternately to butter mixture, beating on low speed after each addition just until combined. Fold in poppy seeds.

Yummy!

Divide cake batter evenly between prepared pans.

Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool cakes in pans on wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove cakes from pans; cool completely. When cakes are cool, trim tops of cakes if necessary to make them flat. Split cakes in half horizontally to create four cake rounds.

Note: Mr. Southern did a fabulous job. I am miserable at cutting in a straight line, be it a cake or wrapping paper.

To assemble, place one cake round on cake plate. Spread with 1 scant cup Lemon Curd. Top curd with another cake round and another scant cup of curd. Repeat with third cake round and the remaining curd. Top curd with last cake round.

Note: Use more than a "scant" on your first layer or you'll have lemon curd left over. Better yet, divide it into thirds so you know how much to use! I added a bit of the frosting in the middle layer as well.

Frost top and sides of cake with Coconut Buttercream Frosting. Sprinkle toasted coconut on top of cake and press into sides of cake. Serve immediately with fresh strawberries, or store cake in refrigerator.

Let chilled cake stand at room temperature 1 hour before serving. Makes 12 to 16 servings.

So while my cake is not quite as beautifully styled as the one featured in the magazine, it looked pretty good! (I think).

Lemon Curd:
In large saucepan stir together 1-1/3 cups sugar and 2 tablespoons cornstarch. Stir in 1 tablespoon finely shredded lemon peel, 3/4 cup lemon juice, and 1/2 cup water. Cook and stir over medium heat until mixture is thickened and bubbly.

In large bowl lightly beat 7 egg yolks. Slowly stir about half of hot lemon juice mixture into eggs. Return lemon-egg mixture to saucepan. Cook, stirring continuously over medium heat until mixture comes to gentle boil. Cook and stir 2 minutes more. Remove from heat. Stir in 1/2 cup butter, 1 tablespoon at a time, until melted and well combined. Cover surface of curd with waxed paper or plastic wrap. Chill curd at least 8 hours or until firm. Makes a scant 3 cups lemon curd.

Coconut Butter Cream Frosting:
In large mixing bowl beat 1 cup softened butter with electric mixer on medium speed for 30 seconds. Gradually beat in 2 cups powdered sugar. Beat in 3 tablespoons milk and 1 teaspoon coconut extract. Gradually beat in 4 cups additional powdered sugar until smooth, with spreading consistency. If necessary, beat in additional milk, 1 teaspoon at a time, to make spreading possible. Makes about 3-1/4 cups frosting.

*To toast coconut: Preheat oven to 325°F. Spread coconut in shallow baking pan. Heat about 5 minutes or until coconut is fragrant and just barely toasted, stirring once. Cool completely.

For the Gardening portion.... let's take a look at my Improved Meyer Lemon tree, which we just moved outdoors. Ahhh, beautiful flowers (and they smell fabulous!)

Unfortunately, you can see that the leaves aren't as healthy as I'd like...

I believe we have an infestation of spider mites(??). So off to get Horticultural Oil and get rid of those nasty buggers. Oh how I long for a green thumb.

Oooh and I almost forgot- our little Easter Bunny! We have a big adoption weekend coming up, so I'm training her to look as cute as possible.

Have a Happy Week!

Emmie

READ MORE - Lovely Lemons- Baking Traditional Home's Cake and Gardening

Spanish 101 and Recalling Peru

Friends, I have misplaced my camera cord so I cannot do my weekend review post as planned! Oops. So instead, some other goodies.

Tonight Mrs. Southern Aspirations heads back to school. I'm enrolled in Accelerated Spanish 101, in an effort to shed myself of my self-titled "Ugly American" status. Please don't get me wrong... when I travel to other countries I do behave myself and try not to be overly touristy.

However, I have not achieved my personal goal of being fluent in a language other than English. (For those readers who also are fluent in one language, I don't mean to sound judgmental of you! This is just my goal!!). You see, my sister is bilingual and teaches bilingual children. My mother taught High School Spanish and is very proficient in conversational Spanish. I, despite four years of Spanish and two years of French, am proficient in English. I have bought some CDs as well, but figure the classroom experience will be good for me.


On to Peru. I had the great opportunity to visit Peru with two of my dearest friends a few years ago and it was an amazing experience. We went from Lima...

the city was so beautiful in many parts and I can't believe I didn't take more photos! My favorite was my morning run with Jillie along the Pacific Ocean...

to Cuzco....

Santo Domingo Convent Monastery- quite simply gorgeous.

Pisaq Market for a little shopping


Ollantaytambo, the only Incan village where folks still live in the ancient buildings



our super-cute hotel, Sol y Luna



to the Sacred Valley of Machu Picchu...

Because of the elevation, it apparently is cloudy/foggy most mornings. However, still absolutely incredible views. This can be my inspiration for terracing the little hill in the backyard! (kidding, of course).
and then down to Puno.

We did a little hiking- and it was quite cold in parts!


Lake Titicaca

So yes, the trip was a bit touristy, but it was great to learn the history of the beautiful country while seeing it. Additionally, we used Latin Discover tours (we're not the group tour types) and were very pleased. Whenever we felt lost or confused, it's amazing how someone from Latin Discover would appear and call for us. Even when we didn't realize we should have gotten off the train.

cute little alpacas in Puno


By my next trip, I hope to be a bit more conversant in Spanish!

Have a great week!

Emmie

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Happy Easter!

	"He is not here; for He is risen, as He said. (Matthew 28:6a)

Go share the good news!

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Bunny Love and Happy Birthday Tilghman

This is probably a little bit out there, but with the upcoming Easter holiday and all the bunnies around, I thought I'd introduce you to Leaping Bunny.

The Coalition for Consumer Information on Cosmetics (CCIC) is comprised of numerous organizations across the globe to help consumers make more informed decisions when purchasing household products, like cosmetics. The whole "cruelty free" piece can be rather misleading. Does a company use someone else to "do their dirty work" or are they committed to truly being cruelty free?

The CCIC has the most comprehensive pledge I've seen and their website has opened the door for me to all kinds of great products, be it great skincare lines, makeup, or cleaning products. Another bonus? Most of these are environmentally friendly in other ways, making use of natural materials and minimizing their carbon footprint.

Some examples? (click on the logos to go directly to their website)

The Good Home Co.

Click HERE for a complete shopping guide. No lecture or horror stories -- just please don't be a Kelly (yes, that's a Real Housewives of NYC reference) and blindly believe that human consumption and animal suffering are always mutually exclusive.

And I would be remiss if I did not wish a Happy Birthday to my baby boy, Tilghman (aka Tillie). Apologies for the terrible camera phone picture, but it so perfectly captures him and his naughtiness. Tilghman turns 6 today and we are blessed to have had him join our family nearly 4 years ago.

Yes, that is a toilet paper roll he stole from the downstair's bath trashbin. Oh but he's a cutie.

-Emmie

READ MORE - Bunny Love and Happy Birthday Tilghman

Ballard Designs Backroom Bonanza

via Ballard Design's Facebook Page

Claire and I were discussing fabric options for the banquette at my dining room table and she casually suggested I check out Ballard Design's Backroom location to see some of the fabric in real life. Little did she know (OK, she probably knew) that a visit would solve all of my dilemmas.

Upon my visit, I immediately checked in with the salesperson to see if I could take photos. Alas, no, as a previous blogger apparently took photos then posted a negative review AND showed locations of all the hidden security cameras. So, my personal before and afters will have to suffice. But the showroom near downtown Atlanta is fabulous. I ran up to check the one is Roswell too and just didn't like it nearly as well.

On to the good stuff- my salesfriend helpfully informed me that they had four upholstered Parsons chairs available and on sale- at the greatly reduced retail of $94 each (sorry, I'm just so excited!). I snatched them up and picked up 2 natural linen slips (Joni, you've convinced me). I would have bought 4 slips, but alas they could only find two. Off to the website to order the other two. And yes, they need more ironing and straightening (sorry! I'm also packing for a trip. But I'm cringing at how wrinkled that one chair is!).

But wait! There's more! Ballards also had the black check Coventry bench. While we were not really considering the black and white check, the discounted $186 option prompted a quick change of heart. An immediate/panic email to Claire and some quick verification measurements at home, and the bench was mine.
I added the square linen-covered pillow to help pull the slipcovers and bench together. Claire suggested adding some black ribbon along the bottom of the chairs as well, which I think would work nicely. Additionally, we still need to strip the wallpaper and swap out the chandelier. But progress!

A quick review of the before:

And after!



And Kaylee was dying to be included in the photos, so I had to post this shot of her. She's still available for adoption!!


Clearly Mr. Southern and I do not use the breakfast nook very often. I'm embarrassed to say that most dinners are consumed while we're sitting on the couch (I know! What are we, 19!?) When we're entertaining, we eat in the dining room. So my hope is that these comfy chairs will encourage us to act our age and actually eat at the table.

Also, I must apologize for the science project on the table but we're starting our veggies (tomatoes, sweet peppers, yellow and green squash, and cilantro). Yum!

Best,
Emmie

READ MORE - Ballard Designs Backroom Bonanza