September 27, 2014 by gn0mel0ver

It’s The Little Things: The Sweetest Embroidered Hooks

Sometime in August, Anthropologie sent me a 20% off code to use in their store for completing a survey they sent me. I spotted these embroidered hooks and I knew they would be perfect towel holders in my Otomi inspired bathroom. I like to mix quirky embroidered pieces with the animal patterned walls.

I purchased three out of the four. They arrived and were smaller than I had anticipated. But I loved them so much. Here is a quarter next to them so you can get a good idea of the size.

We had to buy the screws for them. They did not come with any.

I think they really complete the bathroom. They make me ridiculously happy.

They might, perhaps, be my most favorite things I have ever purchased from Anthropologie. And that is saying a lot. They are vintage looking. Outlandish. Fun. And completely go with our house.

I think I would have to fight Phoebe from Friends for them.

I would win.

And Monica would have to clean up the mess.

Then Joey would come up to me and say, “How you doin’?” And I would forget all about my perfect hooks. Which is just what Rachael was hoping for.

Could that be any more accurate?

Ahem.

It’s the little things: finding the perfect small little thing to complete a room. Or just small fuzzy animal faces. They would make anyone happy.

Even Ross.

Have you added anything small to your home lately? Do you have any embroidered pieces? Please share. I would love to hear about it. Don’t worry about Phoebe trying to steal them. I’ve got your back… “I’ll be there for you.”

July 14, 2014 by gn0mel0ver

THE Room: Summer 2014

I never know what to call this room. Technically it is the Formal Living/Dining Room. But since there is nothing formal about my 1800 square foot house, I try to come up with other alternatives for its name. Let’s see…

The Gnome Room? There are a lot of gnomes hidden throughout this room.

The Music Room? Well, there is the piano that I force my children to play. Hmmmm. They would probably call it “the torture room” or “my mommy is the meanest room”.

We can’t have that.

Let’s move along.

The Art/Antique Room? We do have a lot of antiques in here, including these old industrial spools. And there is a lot of art, but not as much as in other areas of our home. In fact in the Music Room picture, you can see we have just now begun climbing up the arched wall. The kids’ head sculptures will be going up there this week.

The Library?

This would perhaps be closer to the truth, because we do have a ton of books. But I have never seen a library with book shelves that messy. I am sure libraries would disassociate themselves from a room like this.

But it was almost what I called it.

Except.

Well, except when I was putting together this post and looking through the pictures, one theme seemed to stand out. It was rather unexpected. I don’t know what to think about it.

Can you guess what it is?

Yep.

We have a flippin’ Dog Room. What the heck? They’re everywhere. From being there in person to their gigantic mugs on the wall, I think they have claimed this room.

CanIne do anything about it?

Probably not. But it makes me laugh nonetheless.

Do you have a mish/mash room at your home? Do you always wonder what it really is? Have you finally decided on a name? You might be surprised at what the room ruffeals.

June 29, 2014 by gn0mel0ver

Moroccan Shag Pillows

The week before we went on vacation, I had stumbled upon a delightful surprise. These Nate Berkus Moroccan Shag Pillows. They are from Target. They are sold out online, however, the website was saying they were sold out when I looked them up right after I purchased them, too. This leads me to believe that some stores might still have them.

I had been wanting these pillows for months. But the day I decided to get them in the middle of May, they were gone. Two weeks later, I found them again. Someone had returned them. I was not going to let them be sold out from under me again.

I love the black and white pattern in the room that is full of color. It is a nice contrast. And the shag effect on them makes them feel soft. I had to replace the pillows that used to be on the chairs. They had become too worn. And the Rabbit Pillows I purchased a few months ago, have been a little dog-handled. I need to fix the pompoms or cut them off completely.

I will say the insert in this pillow is not the best. The pillow is stiff because of that, but for $25, that is to be expected. The pillow does not have a zipper so it is not possible (without some work) to change its insert.

Do you have a thing for pillows? I cannot get enough.

June 27, 2014 by gn0mel0ver

Honey Vanilla Ice Cream

The summers of my youth could be described in three flavors. Grape juice, cheddar cheese and homemade honey vanilla ice cream. Being from a long line of beekeepers meant that my family had learned to incorporate the very nectar of their labors into almost every food they ate.

I have mentioned that as a young child, a spoonful of honey was a snack. A few drops of pollen, a special treat.

But nothing compared to my grandma’s honey ice cream. And nothing ever will.

I have tried to replicate it the best I could. I also wanted to make it a bit less rich. I believe my grandmother used mostly cream. I decided to use half milk. Half cream.

If you have never had honey ice cream, well, I don’t know if you should try it now. You will never go back. It is that good.

Seriously knees-dropping-to-the-ground-as-you-pay-homage-to-a-passing-bee good.

The person who invented the saying “you’re the bee’s knees,” may or may not have been referring to this phenomenon after just having eaten honey ice cream.

I mean, that makes sense right?

Well, it makes more sense than comparing someone to bee’s knees. Which, while they are quite cute and fuzzy for knees, do not come close to comparing to this treat.

Let’s make some heaven!

Ingredients:

2/3 cup honey
2 cups milk
2 cups heavy whipping cream
1 tsp. vanilla extract
Caviar from one vanilla bean
5 egg yolks

Directions:

Pour your milk and cream into a large pot on the stove. Add your honey. Turn heat to medium-low.

While that is heating up, separate five egg yolks. Whisk the egg yolks for two minutes continuously. Or bust out your stand mixer if you have one. And let it do the work for you on medium speed for two minutes.

Add the caviar of a vanilla bean to the steeping milk mixture. Whisk. When milk mixture comes to a light boil, turn heat to low. Very slowly add a ladleful (about 1/2 a cup) to the egg yolks while you whisk them. Now add that mixture back into the hot milk mixture. With a wooden spoon, stir continuously until the mixture begins to thicken. This should be about three minutes.

Turn heat off. Strain mixture through a fine mesh strainer. Add vanilla extract. Stir.

Cover bowl and refrigerate at least two hours to overnight.

Follow your ice cream maker’s churning instructions. For my machine, I simply dump in the chilled ingredients.

Freeze your ice cream in a freezer-safe container. And then indulge the next day. I like mine covered in Trader Joe’s Fudge Sauce.

I warn you. You will never look at vanilla ice cream the same way again.

Or a bee for that matter.

Now let’s get some padding for those knees.

*I adapted the vanilla ice cream recipe that came with my Cuisinart Ice-100 (a super fancy name for a big ol’ ice cream maker. The link is an affiliate link) to incorporate honey. Seriously, next time your husband makes the brilliant mistake of not asking for anything for Christmas, you might want to get ~~him~~ one of those babies. I might love it more than David Beckham.

Gnome Lover

Stumbling through life while still having fun

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It’s The Little Things: The Sweetest Embroidered Hooks

THE Room: Summer 2014

Moroccan Shag Pillows

Honey Vanilla Ice Cream