The mulberry. Long, black, & beautiful.

"Have you ever had a mulberry? It will blow your mind."

This is what I heard from my friend as she picked mulberries while on the phone with me. No, I had never had a mulberry that I could remember. All I could think of was 'all around the mulberry bush the monkey chased the weasel' and I'm not even sure if those were the animals in the song. That's just what came to me. She brought me a small container of these berries. I had never seen anything like them. They were so long and lovely!

It seemed strange to eat such a long berry. It was like eating a juicy worm. Or what I imagine that to be like. Except sweeter and packed with a delicate berry flavor.

So much creative inspiration can be traced back to nature!

Making a mobile with an ikea hanging lamp

I knew from the moment I saw this Glansa pendant lamp hanging in IKEA it would make a perfect mobile base. It is basically a wreath frame wired with little LED lights. Although it looked pretty cool hanging on its own above the crib I had a plan to sweeten it up. I found this great leaf ribbon at a local fabric shop. It has a matte paper-like finish. It reminded me of the Tord Boontje Midsummer Lamp. Yes, I could have just ordered one of those but it wouldn't have been as fun to make.  Plus, I made those blue birds that needed a place to hang and be happy...

Step one. I covered the upper cords that the light hangs from with the leafy ribbon. Then I went around the frame of the light and then draped the last pieces randomly so there were 'vines' hanging down.

Step Two. I attached fishing line to my little blue birds and hung them around the frame at different lengths. Done!

Tintable chalkboard paint. Magnamagic...a dream come true

My plan for a main wall in the baby's room was to use chalkboard paint. Not the traditional green or black, something different. I wanted orange. Of course I had a particular shade of orange in mind so the quarts of rustoleum in pre mixed quarts of colors was not going to work. I searched the internet looking for advice on blogs, reading magazine articles, even contemplated making my own using Martha Stewart's recipe, which would be quite a project. It was a big wall. I needed at least a half gallon and before you can use your home made chalkboard wall you have to cover the whole thing with chalk and then wipe it off. No thanks. That's not what I'm looking for.

Then I found Magnamagic. I ordered a gallon of their tintable chalkboard paint which they claimed could be be tinted any color you wanted. It was a neutral base paint. I later learned this meant that pastel colors were harder to achieve exactly but if you were looking for a stronger hue this would be perfect. And it is. $49.99 a gallon plus three day delivery and my creative dream was on its way to becoming a reality.

I read on the Magnamagic web sight that a few select Sherman Williams stores on the east coast were now carrying their products. So that's where I decided to go to hoping that the bases of the paint would be similar and I could get a more exact color match. The staff at Sherman Williams was overly helpful. Although I left there a little uneasy about the dabble of paint on my gallon top thinking it was a bit brighter than I wanted I realized those people really know their stuff because the paint dried a bit darker on the wall and it was an exact match.

Top reasons to try this paint:

• You pick the color. whoo hoo!
• The paint fumes were surprisingly lower than your average gallon of paint.
• Goes on smoothly and one coat was enough!
• Let the paint dry for 48 hours before using chalk on it. You can actually erase your chalk with a clean damp cloth without leaving behind an obvious spot on the wall.

After the paint dried I could begin the chalk drawing that I had envisioned for the nursery...

What a happy room to be in.

a blanket for happy days

Hurray for Japanese import fabric!  I love this print from cosmo textiles. I decided to make a blanket with this happy print on one side to make us smile when we look at it and a super soft side that will be plush and lovely against baby's skin.

Just a 36 inch square. Perfect for the stroller, crib, play yard, or just hanging out on the floor.

Are you smiling yet?

shelf life

Yay! We're getting the baby's room together a little at a time. We put the shelves up. Finally a place for my collection of vintage plastic toys!

Strawberry cream frosting on vanilla cake!

It's strawberry season. I love the small extra sweet berries that you can find now, the ones that really taste like a strawberry. Back in May I came across a recipe in the BonAppetit R.S.V.P. section where readers write in about a dish that they love at a favorite restaurant. This particular cake is served at a place in Montpelier, VT. It was the frosting that attracted my attention. A strawberry cream cheese frosting sounds perfect and fresh for those early summer days.

Think you want a slice? Here's what you have to do...

Preheat your oven to 325.

Butter and flour two 9-inch cake pans with 2-inch high sides.

For the frosting-

2  8 oz. packages of cream cheese at room temperature

2  sticks of unsalted butter at room temperature ( I used a stick and a half...tasted good and felt a little better for me. ha!)

4  cups of powdered sugar  ( I used 3 cups trying to reduce sweetness. I like my results.)

1/2 cup seedless strawberry jam

3/4 cup chilled heavy whipping cream.

Using an electric mixer, beat cream cheese and butter in a large bowl until smooth, stopping to scrape down the sides.  Beat in sugar, then jam. Beat cream in a separate medium bowl until peaks form.  Fold whipped cream into frosting.  Cover; chill until firm enough to spread, about 2 hours.

Cake Time.

3  cups of cake flour

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon  baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

• Sift these dry ingredients into a medium sized bowl

3 cups sugar

2 sticks unsalted butter at room temperature

7 large eggs. Yes, 7!

2 tablespoons vanilla extract

1 cup of sour cream

6 tablespoons (plus the optional 1/3 cup) seedless strawberry jam

2 1/4 pounds of strawberries, hulled and sliced (about 6 cups)

Using electric mixer, beat sugar and butter until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, blending after each one. Beat in vanilla.  Add sour cream; beat 30 seconds. Add flour mixture in 3 additions, blending after each.  Divide batter between prepared pans.

Bake for about 50 minutes or until cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool in pans on racks for 10 minutes. Run a small sharp knife around pan sides, then turn out cakes onto racks and cool completely.

Using a large serrated knife cut each cake in half horizontally. Place one half, cut side up on cake plate.

Spread 2 tablespoons of jam.

Next,  3/4 cup frosting.

Lastly, 3/4 cup sliced strawberries arranged in a single layer.

Repeat two more times with cake layer, jam, frosting, and berries.

Top with remaining cake layer cut side down.

Spread two cups of frosting over the top and sides of cake in a thin layer to cover completely. Then spread remaining frosting over top and sides of cake. I refrigerated in between layers because my frosting was getting very soft. The recipe then says to take about 1/3 cup of the seedless strawberry jam and swirl it into the frosting decoratively. Afraid this would make it extra sweet, I skipped this part.

I didn't save any berries to garnish with so I just used some flowers. The cake came out great, it was dense but moist and the frosting has that sweet tangy combination.

Cover and refrigerate cake. As it sits in the fridge the cake soaks up even more moisture from the jam and berries but doesn't get soggy. Yum!

happy little blue birds

These little blue birds were made out of felt and the leftover scraps from the crib bedding. You will see them again soon singing a sweet song hanging from a twinkling mobile.