i have always had a sweet tooth, but since being married, i have brought jared over to the…hmmm, some might call it… dark side.  well, we were in the mood for something sweet to end our meal the other day, and we didn’t have much around.  i found a box of white cake mix in the pantry and decided to visit google for an idea, and this recipe popped up.  you could do lot of variations of this, and i decided to add some cherry juice infused craisins (if you haven’t tried these, you must!).  it took no time at all, and our little bellies were very happy.

cake mix cookies
1 (18.25 ounce) box cake mix (no pudding)*
2 eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil

mix or match the following or get creative!..

6 ounces miniature chocolate chips
6 ounces butterscotch chips
6 ounces peanut butter chips
1/2 cup shredded coconut
1/2 cup raisins
1 apple, grated
1 cup chopped nuts
1/2 cup finely chopped dried apricots

preheat oven to 350 degrees.

combine cake mix, eggs and oil. mix well, then add the optional ingredients and blend in. drop by rounded teaspoons onto ungreased cookie sheet. bake for 9 to 12 minutes.

did you see jamie’s manifesto yesterday?  her description of how she felt about domino magazine really struck a chord with me.

the other day, i was trying to describe for a friend what it was about domino magazine that was so special. everytime i open the pages of any issue, i can’t sit still for more than 5 minutes because i’m up, inspired, moving things around, restyling, fluffing and running out to grab something i saw in the mag i needed…once that connection was made, our wheels would start turning and we’d be engaged in not only reading a magazine, but in going a step further and trying to recreate what we saw, with our own personal twist.

i love anything that gives me the urge to get up and create or re-swizzle something in my own home…sometimes it’s a magazine, a tv show, a blog, or just too much caffeine.  i love that feeling.  i want my home to be pretty to look at but also comfortable to be in, and whatever inspires me to get there, i’m thrilled about.  i’ve always wanted to have the house that people want to come to, where friends and neighbors just drop by, but more importantly, i want a home that reflects my family.  i think that’s inspiring in and of itself.

{today’s dream kitchen}

i promised this two weeks ago and just got around to taking a few photos this morning.  we turned an ugly storage space in our basement into a little home gym.  we had all the equipment already, but it was in a different area of our basement.  the new gym really works for us, and it frees up a big space that we will turn into another living area – yay!

well, we learned the hard way that 9 hours in the basement is just a bit too long for our dear old dog.  i had some running around to do so i was away from home most of the day, and i came home to find the below exhibit of his handiwork.  though he’s 4, he clearly still has some puppy in him.  thanks miller!

thankfully it was just some big floor pillows that were sacrificed.  i texted my husband the picture, and he initially thought that the upholstered chair had been destroyed – let’s just say he was not complimentary about what miller had done with the place.  we’re all happy that it was just the pillows that perished.  this basement is one of our projects in progress, so it’ll make for a more exciting before and after now.  happy weekend!

the culprit

so, i have been dying to give a facelift to a bookshelf we have under our TV.  we cut a hole out of the back of the piece to accommodate a few cables, and in doing it, the jigsaw got away from us…oops!  thus the terrible jagged hole – we had something covering it up, but i still thought about it and hated it (and i’m embarrassed to be sharing it, but there’s a happy ending!).  i saw bryn do this to a piece of furniture a few weeks ago – i love that it’s a super-easy fix, and if we hate it in a few months, it’s no big deal to change it up.  i’m already thinking an old map would be a cool change down the road.

so, i was perusing spring clothes at gap.com (because i want spring to get here – BAD), and i saw this shirt, which reminded me of this fabric.  so then i thought, this outfit could turn into a pretty cool room. a little bit rock and roll and a little bit ladylike, all with a splash of lavender on the walls.  give the board a click to make it larger for your viewing pleasure.