monkey see, monkey do

you. must. make. this. tomorrow. (or right now)

i love monkey bread and this is one of the best recipes. to die for people! (oh and i don't have an angel food cake pan, so I just used mini loaf pans... use what you have... just adjust the cooking time.)

oh, and this woman is amazing. check out the rest of her recipes. ya-mmy!

and one more thing...

...this is too funny. have a great weekend everybody.
the next time your significant other says 'i am going to mount a fish in our house', say 'that's fine...i'm going to spray paint it gold and make it wear a hat'.

funny right? what a nice compromise!

you can read more from this blogger here. (that's were I got the picture too!)

and happy one week birthday my sweet little emma!! love you.

bakers twine - use #1

so, i have to admit, this use is pretty basic, but i thought i'd share anyway.

i was putting together a basket of goodies for someone that was saying thanks. outside the parameters of a traditional basket of st. marys this client wanted just a bunch of goodies that a group could share. it was really important that the baskets expressed a great deal of gratitude and love.

i searched the internet for quotes about being thankful, found a cute font, printed out the quotes and cute them into strips.

then using the bakers twine (see it? see it?) i attached the quotes randomly to the items in the basket. an extra personal touch. wouldn't ya say?

oh and look some b-twine over here too!! love it.

thoughtful fridays

i'm not sure where if found this image. if anyone knows, feel free to post in the comments.

a giveaway - from 'our little love nest'

Click your way over to our little love nest for a super cool giveaway. Dee is giving away her new collage/poster, her 12 challenge calendar and a pair of feather and hemp earrings. there are four chances to win here people!

new magazine + 'new' clock = happy thursday

have you seen this magazine yet? ah-mazing. i've been following their blog recently (before the arrival of their magazine) and was so excited to see it in the store last night. i've been sceptical with magazines lately as most are just filled with ads. yuck. not this one people.
as soon as i opened the cover and saw this tower of chartreuse wonderfulness i knew it was going to be good!

check out this too! another blog i've been recently following. i haven't read the article yet, but i've been wondering how/where these guys got started. love their look and style. and check out that 'round' thing on the table...

I HAVE ONE too! about a month ago i found this gem on ebay for $10. awesome... and here it is in a magazine. too cool. too. cool.
another image from BH boys. they just opened an online market. you must check it out.

i love cupcakes. probably too much. so when i saw these next images i was totally swooning. what an amazing idea. (as soon as i post this, i will be searching ebay for one of these guys.) wouldn't it be exciting to hae one of these at the breakfast table.

and this. wow. a little extreme, but that's what makes it great.

and what's better than a magazine? my 'new' clock! i say 'new' because it's new to me. it was actually a wedding gift to my mom and dad when they were married back in the day. i love this thing. it hung in my living room as a child for the longest time.

then, at some point these babies 'went out of style.' so it was carefully tucked away. i showed my mom a clock that i liked with an image of a cuckoo clock and she offered to let me use the real thing. amazing right?

after a couple weeks at the clock shop it's cuckoo is as good as new. hey little guy! welcome back.

i love it. more than you know. thanks mom.

it's here!

my baker's twine arrived in the mail today.

now...just waiting on the spindles. hurry!

inspired by ... color on the ceiling

i've painted plenty of rooms in my day. even in grade school and high school i painted my bedroom twice. first white with dark green sponge on top (what was I thinking?) then a really perfect light green. anyway, i love painting. i love how paint can transform a space instantly. it can make a house feel like a home.

i've always followed the standard of painting. color on the walls, white ceiling paint above. but last week I kept stumbling across these images of color on the ceiling and i've been really intrigued. (almost obsessed, especially by the last two images)

image from design*sponge

it's just ... different ... unexpected ... dramatic! although a black ceiling is quite ... different... with the white walls (which are very tell) it works perfectly.

image from house beautiful

and come on! how could you not be happy in this kitchen? the blue walls are so cheery with crisp white crown molding and the barely lighter shade of blue on the ceiling. amazing.

image from sarah story design

and talk about drama. this purple ceiling is super cool! and see how they tied things together with the artwork in the background (the woman in the purple dress). so smart.

and my favorite.... this what what started my mini obsession with color on the ceiling. this is just the perfect mix of contemporary meets traditional. i'm really, really in love with this.

once i wrestle up the funds this will be the plan for the master bedroom here at the inn. Although I will need to change things up a bit as the adjoining bathroom has tan tile. maybe I can make the grey stripe a little more tan? i just don't know. more research i suppose.

images from pugs not drugs

i think the one important detail is to incorporate that ceiling color into your room as well. see how the curtains and pillows just make everything work? very important.

don't you just LOVE it? ahh.

hypertufa

do you get martha stewart living? if you don't, i think you should. just my opinion. i'm not the biggest martha fan, but i must admit she does have some good and sometimes brillant ideas. like this one...

image found here.

in the march issue of living she gives instructions to create these faux stone planters known as hypertufa. i have been drooling over them since i saw the article. now i'm hating this snow outside even more. (i would not attempt to do this inside as i'm sure i'd find a way to cement the pot to the floor, wall or ceiling.)

photo from here.


this one's made using a basket as a mold. too cool right?

photo from here.

as soon as it melts, i am doing this. i did some research and found some inspirations. even a video (below).

i'm thinking about doing retangular or square ones... which are pictured in the magazine, but not online. you can also add powdered cement coloring to your mixture to create a really unique piece to match your space. i'm thinking about doing tans and brown as the foundation of the bed and breakfast is a stone/tan color.

directions from martha can be found here. but if you google 'hypertufa' you can find a bunch of images, tutorials, images etc.

check out this video on making hypertufas.






will you try this? have you done this? how would you do it different? would love to hear your ideas.

blueberry and pineapple jam ...

...now available in our gift shoppe!

i started with this...

...then this...

...cooked to this...

and finally... to this! (looks like jam in heaven, right?)

yum. another creation of my own (no recipe here!). it tastes like blueberry pie... then it hits the back of your tongue with a pineapple surprise. super yum!

how to: pom poms

it took some searching, but... as promised, here's the tutorial on how to make pom poms.

don't want to make your own adorable pom pom flowers? i'm selling some i made in my gift shoppe. available in purple, yellow and white. too cute... and only about a dollar a 'stem'!

giving is better than receiving

i wrapped up a couple gifts yesterday to welcome my new niece to the world and to wish my mom a happy, happy birthday. and since i LOVE wrapping presents (it's almost an addiction people), i thought i'd share...

i found the paper at the local dollar store for $1 per roll! amazing. the ribbon i got at Wal-mart. Not the best quality, but looks great and a nice price. plus there was actually ribbon on the roll unlike some that you buy where there is barely enough to make a bow! (and i knew it was good when i went back to get more and it was pretty much gone!)

then i added some sweet homemade pom-poms to the package to make it a little more special. i found a pom pom making tutorial, but i need to do some searching to find the link. i'll post it when I do.

and, although a little 'out-of-season', this is how I wrapped my christmas gifts this past year. while the colors may not be appropriate for this time of year, the application can be used for any celebration.

i first wrapped the package in brown kraft paper. you could also use brown paper bags to make this extra thrifty. then i got a long strip of coordinating paper and wrapped that around the brown paper. i then used strips of fabric, tore from a piece of fabric to match, to wrap around the package (i just tied a knot, but you could also make a bow). again you can use fabric left over from another project. who needs to buy ribbon!

to finish things off i then wrapped the package with some hemp twine. again, use what you have. baker's twine would be perfect too. when tying the twine i slipped in a piece of artificial pine... you could use a flower, a homemade pom-pom, an ornament, cookie cutter, etc. again... use what you have. i added a matching tag and that's it! very original gift. almost too pretty to open.

happy monday! be sure to check back later or mid week. i'm hoping to put up another exciting giveaway.

e is for emma

welcome to this world emma. may all your dreams come true and always remember you are loved.
my new niece, emma. born 2/19/2010 at 1:26pm. 6lbs.

and the winner is...

hanna! congratulations!


hanna was selected at random (by random.org) as the winner of a sweet giveaway which includes a delicious box of chocolates and some sweet spring decorations.

and since there aren't enough runners-up in life, i decided to have a second place winner! yeah, you heard me right. yay! so, the runner up (again choosen by random.org) is Ginger and Pickle. her winnings include a small box of 'boxed turtles' from the goblin and a nest and egg.

both of these ladies have the cutests blogs too! be sure to check them out stat!

hanna - Sherbert Blosoom
ginger & pickle - Thimbleberry Kitschen

congrats again! ladies, please email (info@visitoldcharm.com) me your mailing address and I will get your goodies out on monday. and thanks to all for entering! check back again next week for another chance to win something fab from inspiredbycharm!

in addition to our giveaway today is a really, really special day. i will be posting again sometime after noon today (or tomorrow morning at the latest). i'm getting my very first niece, emma. she's schedule to arrive today. please keep her and her mother in your thoughts. i will post pictures as soon as i can!

a pear a day

check out these beauties from viva terra! and i thought my terrariums were cool. i'll take two please!

inspired by ... etsy

it's the middle of february and i am completely and utterly sick of the snow and cold weather. i love planting things. watching things grow. so the winter especially sucks. i enjoy following this blog where this woman lives in california. her life is so colorful. almost magical. anyway, the other day she posted a picture of herself surrounded by green. i was jealous. california, here i come.

after sometime on her sweet blog i was wondered aimlessly on etsy, I discovered these ah-mazing terrarium balls. and i was inspired.

picture found at LBrandt



i'm not a huge fan of air plants (they look like the may come alive an attack me in my sleep or something - they just seem unnatural). i also hate spending money on something i can do myself. (no offensive etsy seller) so i did some research and found the little glass orbs for a steal here. great, right? i had dirt (who doesn't) so that was free. i mixed some stones into the dirt (free again) to create some sort of drainage. necessary? i'm not sure.








i had a couple succulents in a planter that i brought inside for the winter (which is super cool too. i'll have to show you it another time. after it gets back outside. its looking a little sad. i think it's ready for the winter to be over too.) anyway, so I just cut the succulents and put them in the dirt. supposedly they should root this way. 'they' say not to water the succulent clipping when you first plant them as the plant stores water in it leaves. then as time passes you can start to water.





i also found this string of pearls succulent here. (looks like there are none available at this time.) This flower ^ came after I planted the clippings, so it must be doing ok. oh, and this etsy seller is amazing. quick shipping, affordable price and they included directions for how to plant! awesome.

so, here's what i came up with.




I must admit one of the succulents did have an untimely death (even before photos were taken). I think it was too drafty near this particular window. just about that time, my mom got me the cutest fern, so i decided to try planting that in the orb instead. this is test. so far, so good. i'll keep you posted.

they are suspended by fishing line on a hook i screwed into the trip. (it's hard to see in the pics) of course the older, yet more practical generation that sees these creations ask, 'how are you going to water that?' well, it actually super easy. just take them down (there are little holes in the top) and slowly pour the water in...slowly is key. then wipe off the glass. it's really simple. and succulents seem to be pretty low maintenance, so that's even better.

this is all still a big experiment. but i like that. and if it works out in the end, even better. i'll keep you posted.

oh, and I made these for breakfast today. (thanks for the recipe idea room!) i, of course, jazzed mine up with some lemon zest and vanilla. not the best muffins i've ever had, but pretty darn good.