You won't believe what I did....

Whether you've known me for a long long time, or just a few months, you know that I love noodles.  I have eaten Ramen noodles for most of my life and still love them.  

Usually, I am a purist and I don't do a whole lot to the simple soup.  Either cooked on the stove or in the microwave and dusted lightly with pepper and I am good to go.

So, you won't believe it when I say that I have a found a Ramen noodle recipe that I LOVE!  It's Martha Stewart's Quick Pad Thai.  I was super skeptical at first.  But I love these noodles and I love Martha... so I tried it.....

Start with your packet o' noodles.

Cook on the stove or in the microwave and add the seasoning packet.

Here's where it get's funky!  Add 1 tablespoon of peanut butter (creamy or crunchy), 1 table spoon of soy sauce (I go for the light sodium considering this already has a tremendous amount of sodium :), and as little or as much Siracha as you'd like (I usually do 2 tablespoons but I like spicy food).  MIX.

Top with chopped green onions if you've got them. (Obviously, I don't have them :)

Yes... it does look a little funky - but it is Delicious with a capitol D!  Seriously!

An Interesting Thought

Evan has recently introduced me to the intellectual genius that is Dr. Neil deGrassie Tyson. He is an astrophysicist and now the director of the New York City Planetarium.. the one that houses the Hubble Telescope.

It is hard to read - so I'll retype it here....

"There's a worm in the street, you walk by it. Does the worm know that you think you're smart? The worm has no concept of your smarts.  Because you're that much smarter than the worm.  So the worm has no idea that something smart is walking by it.  Which makes me wonder whether we have an concept - if a super species walked by us.  Maybe they're uninterested in us because we're too stupid for them to even imagine having a conversation. You don't walk by worms and go "gee I wonder what the worm is thinking." This is just not a thought you have! So one of the best pieces of evidence for why we haven' been visited by aliens is that they have actually observed us and concluded there is no intelligent sign of life on earth."

Bath Room Remodel!

Cacti Cocktail Hour

During the holiday season, I attended a fun little Christmas get-together and a fellow attendee brought one of the most clever gifts for the hostess... it was a flower pot full of cacti and succulents the woman had gathered from her garden! 

While talking to her about her cacti, I learned how easy they are to propagate and keep alive. After successfully killing almost half of my patio garden, I kinda wanted to get some cacti.  Low maintenance, little water, few bugs.... sounded like a match made in Heaven! 

Lucky for me, she had the idea for a girls' afternoon, Cacti and Cocktails.  So, a few weekends ago, a few gals piled into a car, headed to her house with our empty pots.... and some wine.... and we got ourselves some cacti!

Before.... my empty pots that at one time had some tomatoes, flowers, and herbs.  I'll blame the freezes for their deaths.....

We had to break some old pots up to put in the bottom of the pots for drainage.

Getting closer....

Starting to clip some cacti arms; after cutting an arm off, the cacti would bleed a white milky substance.  These guys are super spiky and really tough; they were much heavier than I thought!

Ta-daa!!! Here's my first completed pot - it has 4 different plants in it, two pretty spiky guys, a pencil plant that can grow to 8-feet tall and a little gray/purple succulent!

Pot number 2.... 

Close up of the cool succulent. 

All finished.  With wine, and cheese, and dirt, and a few bugs, some spikes, and awesome succulents, we had a really fun time being a little creative and attempting to have a bit of a green thumb. :)

Quick update - when I put these on my porch... the giant stink bugs were there to watch! And they are multiplying... there were 6 in of my plants instead of 4.  

This is soooo cool!

So I was online looking at products for clients and LOOK WHAT I FOUND! Okay I'm a little dramatic, but it's so stinkin cool!

Luna Faucets

Luna Faucets

 - Erin

And then there was Edison...

I have a weird pet peeve...I don't really like light bulbs to much...It's weird I know. I just hate when you see a pretty lamp or light fixture and people have those curly fluorescent blubs showing. Or those LED space ship looking ones. I see those and I expect the crazy haired guy from the alien show on History to show up. YICKS!

But I do love a good Steampunk, Industrial, Vintage look. I don't really care what you call it, but these Edison bulbs that are trending right now are AWESOME looking. It adds character and interest to a light fixture, instead of taking it away or distracting from it.

I mean check this out.

Esty.com

 - Erin

Sneak Peak - Law Firm Project

From December through February, I've been working on a great project for a local law firm. The firm moved into an amazing house and basically started from scratch! New wall color, all new furniture, accessories, artwork, etc.  

It has been a very fast project and incredibly creative; every space is different than the rest. No two desk is the same, no set of side chairs are the same, and no every piece of artwork and accessory has a different story.

Here are a few sneak peak photos!

Decorative wall in conference room; the photographs are pictures the partner took while traveling through Africa.  There are also small things she's collected through her travels highlighted through the accessory arrangements.

The big boss's office!

The firm deals with international trade law- so there are little things here and there to hint at things from outside the U.S.

Kitchen

Hallway - not too exciting but really pretty view to see at the end of the hallway.  

Definitely more to come from this amazing project!

Some Like it Hot!

My good friend Susan had dabbled in makeup artistry while she was in high school in college. She would beautify bridal parties, prep catalog models, and even make her then-boyfriend (now husband) into Edward Scissorhands. 

Recently, she was approached by an old colleague about starting her own business.  However, even in just her few year hiatus from the business, there have been some changes. Primarily with airbrushed makeup.  

So, she needed some guinea pigs to practice with her new equipment and build her portfolio.

What ensued was a fun night with a few girls, makeup, wine, Nutella cupcakes, and some fun with the camera!

I got a nice neutral, everyday look :)  I would have never picked those brown shades... but I am going to start using them now!

The airbrush makeup applies such an even tone to your skin - it really has quite a smooth and flawless finish.

My sister Adrienne got a more dramatic look. Adrienne rarely wears eyeliner - it was so fun to see her with such highlighted eyes!

I was deemed photographer for Adrienne and had way to much fun snapping the flash in her face over and over again :)

But... we got some really great photos of her makeup!

Ashton got a really dramatic out-on-the-town look :) And she rocked it!

Powder Bath Awesomeness!

Powder bathrooms are typically boring. They have white walls and white plumbing fixtures, and probably a really cheesy picture somewhere trying to add a little interest to the room. But it doesn't have to be that way!!! A powder bath can be a space to express yourself and go a little crazy!

On a recent project with Wamhoff Development, our client had this thought too! They really let their personality show through and created a space that not only showed who they are but amplified the rustic theme of their home.

Powder Bath

Now, this is just ONE idea. You can do anything you want in a powder bath. It is a small space, so splurging a little on tile or wall paper wont break the bank. And remember to have fun and make it your own.

 - Erin

Happy Birthday Travis!

My little brother turns 23 today!  (I actually typed 22 at first, looked at it, ran the numbers, and realized, holy canoli, my brother is turning 23!) 

So, happy birthday little brother! Enjoy 23, it goes by fast and before you know it, you're in your mid-twenties!

Funny story about my brother..... when we were little and lived in Oklahoma, my family often headed to the local Mexican restaurant called Alfredo's.  Travis has always been a big fan of cheese and it probably all started with Alfredo's queso. He might have only been 4 years old, but he was a smart and resourceful kid. No one wanted to share the queso with the family, there simply wasn't enough cheesy goodness to go around.

After one of two disappointing trips to Alfredo's where we had to split the queso among the 5 of us, Travis developed a way of getting his very own bowl of melted cheese.  Travis became a double dipper... make that a triple, or even quadruple dipper :) 

Love you!

e