Designing in Life

Happy St Patrick's Day to Ye

I'm not Irish, so no green beer for me.  I don't eat beef, so no corned beef boiled dinner for me either.  However, at work we always have a traditional Irish feast.  Luckily, all corned beef is cooked off premise, so the air is scented oh-so-lightly.  There are several of us who don't eat beef, so there is always a very large roasting pan of all the vegetables that go along with the boiled meal.  And then, of course, there is the Guiness Cake with Bailey's frosting,

which I had none of, but that was my choice!  I was thinking that maybe you are trying to decide what to have for dessert tonight, so here you go.

Chocolate Stout Cake

(makes 1 cake, 6+ servings)

Ingredients:
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
1 cup stout (such as Guinness)
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 cups all purpose flour
2 cups sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
2/3 cup sour cream

Directions:
1. Melt the butter in a sauce pan, remove from heat and let cool a bit.
2. Mix in the stout and cocoa powder.
3. Mix the flour, sugar, baking soda and salt in a large bowl.
4. Mix the eggs and sour cream in another large bowl.
5. Mix the stout mixture into the egg mixture.
6. Mix the dry ingredients into the wet.
7. Pour the batter into one or two greased and parchment lined circular cake pan(s).
8. Bake in a preheated 350F oven until a toothpick pushed into the center comes out clean. If you bake it in a single pan then it should take about 40-50 minutes. If you bake it in two cake pans then it should take about 20-30 minutes.

Bailey's Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients:

4 ounces cream cheese (room temperature)
1 cup confectioners sugar
3 tablespoons of Bailey’s Irish cream
Beat together and try not to eat too much of it before it goes on the cake!!!!!

Tip of the Day

Under no circumstances should you EVER say, "Our washer and dryer are pretty old, but they still work just fine.  Otherwise, this will happen.

Uh, I'm not sure this is what he had in mind for Sunday afternoon.

I'm once again thinking about paint.  I need to decide what color the bathroom and the hallway should be.  Here is a fun little quiz I came across from True Value.    Answer questions here – What's Your Color?  So, It looks like my color is RED! "You boast incredible willpower and are capable of overcoming obstacles that would normally leave others shaking in their boots. You have a penchant for colorful environments and often impress others with your energetic bursts of energy. Your interests in many areas of life often leave you scattered, but when you focus you can accomplish anything you put your mind to." Not so sure how accurate all that is, but I have actually bought a deep red paint for the dining room, which I thought would look great with white wanescoting, however I've been rethinking that lately.  Maybe a red bathroom is in my future instead!  What's your color?

A Sad Good Bye

Last week my dear friend Caryn had to make the hard decision to put down her horse, Avalon.  She came back into Caryn's life as quickly as she left.  Avalon's rescue was anything short of miraculous.  And Caryn's decision to care for her was heroic.  Sadly, Avalon was only back in Caryn's care a very short time before it became apparent that her health was deteriorating more rapidly than anyone thought.  

Here are a few pictures I took when I had the opportunity to take part in Avalon's care.

Caryn leading Avalon to the barn where she would be brushed.

Avalon happily munching in her pasture.

I thought that it would be a fitting tribute to post a poem by Robert Frost, who is so beloved by so many people of Vermont, as was Avalon by so many who knew her.

“Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening”

Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village, though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.

My little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.

He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sounds the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.

The woods are lovely, dark, and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.

What a Find!

I am always looking for graphics to use as backgrounds or to incorporate in what I'm working on.  There are hundreds of places you can go to buy great graphic images.  BUT...the best are free.

The Graphic's Fairy is a great source of free vintage art graphics.  I had a lot of fun looking through them.  Here are just a few that caught my eye.

Aren't they great!  If you make your own invitations or cards, you'll find something, I'm sure.  The possibilities are pretty endless!