Have you ever had a French Madeline Cookie? Those soft spongy, buttery pieces of heaven. They traditionally look like the picture above, in the shape of a shell. I used to eat them weekly at my old job at Starbucks (they sell the BEST packaged Madeline’s).

Now that I don’t work there, I decided to make them at home! But I don’t have a shell shaped mold for French Cookies. So in a pinch I used mini muffin tins! Still just as delicous!

The recipe I have been using is from Epicurious.com and is yummy to the max!

Paired with some coffee (and a cow spoon for stirring) it makes for a sinful breakfast!

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What’s love got to do with it? Everything, that is, if you are referring to my recent decision to set up Nathan’s drum set in our bedroom.

Let’s backtrack a bit. When Nathan and I started dating, he was a happy go lucky college student, gleefully playing the drums and church and giving drum lessons to pay the bills. Somehow over the years, life intervened, and my sweet husband had to pack up his drum kit and put it into storage. It probably had something to do with moving to a small house, starting grad school, moving to a new state, having a child, etc.

Fast forward to this year. Nathan is a focused mathematician. Math is what he does for fun! He is never without a pencil and a notebook, diligently working away at his math dissertation. Then an opportunity arose for Nathan to play the drums at the church we had started frequenting (shout out to Vintage Fellowship). I could tell that Nathan was rather pumped, but intimidated, as he had not played the drums in 3 years.

So yesterday, as we were snowed in, I decided that we HAD to find a place for the drums in our home. Having a 2 year old posed a significant challenge, as we could not set the drum kit up in the dining room or living room (little fingers and such). The only option was our own master bedroom.

I like pretty things. Drums are not pretty. But these drums happen to be a maroon shade, which happens to sort of go with our bedspread (the lovely Liberty of London Quilt that just about EVERYONE seems to have bought last spring). I cleared out a large space next to the bed while Nathan and Violet were sleeping. When he woke up, I had pulled as many of the drum heads out of storage and put them in the corner, waiting for him to come set up!

He is one happy husband. And I love him so much. And I want him to have a creative outlet again.

So, in answering Tina Turner’s infamous question: what’s love got to do with it? Everything!

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Howdy! This is a few days late, but I’m back with this week’s edition of the great BATHROOM FACELIFT (hold the applause… please).

Here’s the breakdown of expenses thus far on the bathroom! We are almost ready for the fun parts: decorating, creating a soothing oasis for yours truly, etc. Total Cost so far: $175.06! Not too shabby!

A few weeks ago we removed our bathroom toilet so that we could easily install flooring and baseboards in the bathroom. Well we have been a little slow to actually purchasing baseboards (blame little Schroeder and his MASSIVE vet bill… I kid, but seriously…) so the toilet has been out of commission.

In our brilliance, we put the ceramic toilet in the back yard for safe keeping. Yes. we are those neighbors with random appliances and furniture in our yard. Please don’t tattle on us. I cannot handle another once of those nasty letters from the city informing us to remove our junk from our yard, but that is another story.

Well, it has snowed quite a bit since the toilet was put in the yard. And we may just have to replace it now, as we cannot tell if the cold weather has ruined the toilet. Here’s hoping that we can have our “stall” reinstated in the near future.

Also in the near future: a trip to our local Re-Store to look for outlet covers, trim for the top of the bead board, and whatever else we can find on the cheap!

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So I have a little announcement to make: my line of illustrations and paper goods, Gingiber has moved to it’s very own storefront!

I have loved selling through Etsy, and will continue to keep my Etsy store open until products expire, but I recently realized that it was time to make a change. I was inspired to make the move after reading a great blog post written by Maggie over at GussySews about the benefits of Big Cartel vs. Etsy (read the full blog post here). Her story was compelling, and after doing much research on my own (checking my Google Analytics referring sites, Monthly Etsy Fees, the benefits of having my own URL, etc.) I decided to dive in!

 To Celebrate the Grand Opening of shopgingiber.com I am offering all readers a 20% discount when you enter discount code “GrandOpening” at checkout! 

So please take a moment to click over to my new store, Shop Gingiber, and browse the merchandise! Along with the new store comes cleaner branding (I ADORE my new font), brighter product images (still finishing up shooting some product pictures), and a fresh start for me and my business!


I want to say a huge thank you to everyone who has shopped at my etsy shop the past year and a half. You have given me the courage to expand my brand and to go after the dream of running Gingiber full time. I’m well on my way thanks to you, friends!

Stacie

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It is giveaway day on the lovely blog Smile and Wave! Hop on over there to enter to win my new print, “Mon Petit Chou Chou”.

Be back later today with a new Bathroom Facelift Post!

Stacie

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1. Pair of Mini Valentines by owlyshadowpuppets, 2. Large Wooden Cake Stand by sundayhatch; 3. Franken Heart by markhed; 4. Shared by yousentimentalidiot

I have taken a month off from etsy favorites, but I am back with some of my favorite picks for the season!

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If you follow me on twitter, then you probably have noticed that every weekend someone in my family is sick! The illnesses of choice have been bronchitis and conjunctivitis. And this ring around-the-rosie of illnesses has got to stop!

Pictured above are ALL of miss Violet’s toys. We are wiping them down (again) with Clorox disinfectant wipes. We have washed every sheet and every article of clothing.

So moms reading this, please tell me, what can I do to make the sick go away? Violet goes to daycare, so should I simply accept that being sick non-stop is inevitable?

Blargh. It is hard to keep up with all of the runny noses that need to be wiped and pink eye drops that need to be applied. Yet I am hoping that once this winter weather goes away, we will all be as good as new!

Stacie

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I don’t know about other moms, but I spend a lot of time looking at my sweet daughter’s little face. I want to memorize every precious feature, every dimple, because with every passing day, she changes. She is growing up. She is picking out her own clothes (she now prefers purple shirts to pink shirts). She is cleaning up her room. She is no longer a baby, but a caring little girl. And I adore her.

And sometimes, I see a lot of myself in her! Both in the way she looks and in her personality!

Do you see the resemblance? Blonde hair. Check. Blue eyes. Check. Mouth hanging wide open like a cod fish? Just like me! We have the same shaped mouth. Same chin. Little things, but sometimes I see her looking up at me, and it shocks me to think that she resembles me to!

She definitely has some traits from her daddy too (her face is much more round than mine was, and she has his nose (thank GOD!). She has his long toes and big eyes. But she is kinda a Stacie clone!

Violet also takes after me in some other areas. She is kinda a ham. Doesn’t mind being a little goofy. She is EXTREMELY strong willed, just like me! She is a bit of a control freak. I suppose she gets that from me, as her dad is the most easy going person on the planet! She is so affectionate, I can hardly keep up with her! She loves to draw (and I know all kiddos like to draw, but I like to think that this is a foreshadowing of creative things to come from Violet).

Sometimes, when I think about my little family of 3, I think that life could not get any better. It gives me such joy to see little pieces of myself in my daughter. It makes me want to live a better life. Be a better person. Then maybe someday she won’t mind that she looks a little bit like her momma.

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Hello! I took last Sunday off, as my mother came into town. We spent the day playing with the kiddo and drinking unhealthy amounts of coffee!

However, lots and lots of progress has been made on the bathroom.

I need to tape and paint the top of the walls (everyone hates that part of the paint job, right? We are also thinking about putting a light above the toilet, as this corner tends to get really dark.

We had leftover hinges from when we renovated our kitchen last year, so it was an easy fix!

Our new handles are really nice (not the Anthropologie one’s I wanted earlier) and were only $2.70 (ish) each! They have nice clean lines, and don’t stick out too far from the cabinets, which is nice in a small bathroom.

We are nearing the finish line, folks! I am going to really put my bargain pants on, as my dog, Schroeder, got terribly sick this week, and I used the cash I had saved up for the bathroom to pay for his vet visit.

Just so you know, Schroeder had a series of cluster seizures that lasted 12 hours on and off. He is stabilized now, but can no longer walk in a straight line and seems really out of it. He goes back to the vet for a checkup next week, but it is terribly sad, as he is only 3 years old! I am praying that the new medicine he is on is responsible for the change in behavior. Say a little prayer for my puppy, if you feel so inclined.

Next week I will give you the cost breakdown of what we have spent so far, and what is left to do!

-Stacie

But I like a good challenge!

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