Bonnin Designs

Bungee Jumping with Bungee America!

noreply@blogger.com (Shari) — Tue, 26 Jun 2012 15:37:00 +0000

I had an opportunity to go on a bungee jumping day trip to Azuza Canyon with a group of OC bloggers through Bungee America. And I could take another person with us as well. It would include a 5 mile hike, lunch, and one of us could bungee jump off of a bridge and then a 5 mile hike back to the car. My teenage self said "heck yeah", but my older (ehem) self, 5 years post back surgery, said, "thanks but I'll hike and I'll let my 17 year old son jump". He said "Heck yeah!" without hesitation when I asked him. So off we went.

Kelly Weppler, Tanya Salcido, Debbie Miller, Becca Tran, me

We met in Azuza Canyon at the parking lot at 7:30 am on Saturday. We had to fill out paperwork and get checked in. There were about 3 jump instructors from Bungee America that hiked in with our large group of about 50 or more, and other instructors that met us at the jump site.

Hiking into the canyon took about 2 1/2 hours at a brisk pace with a couple rest stops. There were lots of hikers and even gold panners around the trail and in the river. We hiked through the river several times, up hills, down hills, and over all kinds of terrain. I'm so glad I was in somewhat good shape. I'm sure I wouldn't have made it if I hadn't been.

I had to keep up with my son after all. (don't you like my butt pack?) photo courtesy of Tanya S.

When we got to the bridge, we enjoyed lunch under shade and also enjoyed bungee instruction which was both informative and pretty hilarious. The instructors were captivating and pretty funny as well. I wasn't nervous one bit about letting my son's life be at their hands. As long as they did their part, and he followed instructions, all would be fine.

I knew this because I did a little research on Bungee America. They've been doing these jumps at this site for over 23 years. They own the bridge and the property surrounding it. They make their own bungee cords which have multiple back ups and their safety record is 100% perfect!

So yeah, I trusted Bungee America with my son's life and I smiled and filmed as he jumped off that Bridge to Nowhere without being hardly nervous at all.

video by Tanya S.

I was excited for him to have an experience of a lifetime. And he did.

Style-Assistant: Your Virtual Shopping Site

noreply@blogger.com (Shari) — Wed, 20 Jun 2012 15:49:00 +0000

When shopping online wouldn't it be great to be able to see how clothing items look together and on a body? What if you could style those clothes in different ways to see how they work? Also wouldn't it be cool to ask friends and family if they like the look you came up with before you buy? Style-Assistant allows you to be able to do those things and more. Heather Keiser, the developer of this site, is brilliant. She is a graphic designer/illustrator who taught herself coding for web design. She combined both of those skills and more and the result is Style-Assistant. Heather was the other guest at Steph Calvert's blog party this week and I was really excited by what she showed us. I want to share it with you! The site is still in beta and there are somewhat limited choices to shop from, but it will be growing quickly.

You start by searching on the bottom of the page for items. They are categorized to make it easy to shop. Once you choose your item, the right column allows you to change the color of that item if that's an option and even style things like tuck in tops, put scarves on many different ways. If you don't like the item, you can remove it. It's so much fun. As you shop too, you'll see the items listed on the top left with price and a total price for all of them together for you to keep track of how much you're spending.

So after putting together outfits, you then save them to your "Wardrobe". You can then allow family and friends to comment on them if they go to the site or you can post them onto Twitter or even Facebook. Go sign up, it's free and start shopping the easy way. You don't have to sign up to search and put together items, but you have to be registered to save them on the site and purchase them. If you have questions, ask away. I'll contact Heather if I don't know them.

The Wardrobe Code Helps You Reclaim Your Personal Style

noreply@blogger.com (Shari) — Tue, 19 Jun 2012 18:46:00 +0000

I learned last night, that if you dress with confidence, it can bring you power. This is an important mantra that Nicole Longstreath of The Wardrobe Code, lives and works by.

My friend Steph Calvert held a blog party at her home and invited Nicole and another person to speak, which I will share more about in tomorrow's post.

It was a night of fun food, chat, and homemade soda, along with the best damn deviled eggs from chickens she owns. The pun never ends.

Back to the subject I was talking about. Nicole likes to call herself a wardrobe strategist. She works with people like you and I, and not necessarily the people that shop high end designer fashions at department stores. Nicole believes that you can built a complete wardrobe with items in your closet and items from thrift stores. She helps you can reclaim your personal style and make it affordable. The reason she primarily shops from thrift stores, is that you can repurpose never worn, to barely worn items. Thus making it not only good for the environment, but also being able to shop many styles and not just one collection from one season at a regular clothes store. Nicole helps you shop quality items, so you end up with a curated collection of items you can easily choose from everyday. She offers 3 different and affordable services to help you reclaim your style. I encourage you to contact her and check out her website.

Beet Salad Recipe: Reinventing Perfection

noreply@blogger.com (Shari) — Fri, 08 Jun 2012 14:49:00 +0000

I ate a beet salad at Anepalco's Cafe recently and haven't forgotten that memorable first course. I was inspired by the salty, sweet, and nutty all together on that plate that I wanted to create my own version of this beet salad at home. And I don't even LIKE beets. Or, not until now.
Their version had boiled beets of which I'm not a fan of the texture so my version has raw beets.
Their version had roasted peanuts. Mine has pecans.
Their version had a Mexican Cotija cheese which adds the salty. I chose to use feta.
Both versions have jicama which adds the sweet and crunchy.

Ingredients

1 raw beet peeled and cut in 8 pieces
1/4 jicama peeled and grated
1/8 cup chopped pecans
1/8 cup feta cheese

Arrange on plate with feta first, then the beets and nuts. And finally the jicama. Try to gather a little of either on your fork to get the flavor combinations. You'll change your mind about beets too!

Current Obsession: Dance Auditions of So You Think You Can Dance

noreply@blogger.com (Shari) — Fri, 01 Jun 2012 15:37:00 +0000

I've realized that I frequently become fixated on inspirations. Whether it be a product or idea. I have to find out more, sometimes I have to find that product. This blog post is something I had to find out more about. I'm calling these my Current Obsessions.

I've been a dancer ever since I can remember, so any dance on TV draws my attention. I've been watching the dance auditions on So You Think You Can Dance and my 2 current obsessions are David Matz and Eliana Girard.

David Matz is a genius. His origins in movement are circus and using the Cyr wheel is not considered dancing by the show standards, but his movement is mesmerizing. Using the Cyr wheel to achieve incredible dimensional movement with such skill was just the best thing I've seen. I'm a huge fan!

Eliana Girard a former "pole aerialist" for Cirque du Soleil, who danced with Joffrey Ballet on scholarship and at Alvin Ailey Dance center. She has a strong ballet background and her extensions are beyond belief. She's one of the most impressive dancers I've seen in a long time.

By the way, David Matz is no longer in the competition of SYTYCD, but Eliana Girard is. So look for her to go far.

Repurposed: Console Table - From Southwestern 1980's to Timeless

noreply@blogger.com (Shari) — Mon, 21 May 2012 19:42:00 +0000

Our mission is complete. We turned a whitewashed pine, Southwestern style console table into a timeless piece of furniture that's got a walnut finish and has an All-style style. Is that a style?

You may remember my call for help from my readers as to what I should do with this console table. It's a sturdy piece of furniture that I wanted to repurpose rather than get rid of. One of my friends who happens to be an interior designer, came to the rescue with the suggestion on how to achieve the style. And a few of my readers helped me choose the darker finish.

This project took a weekend and a couple of extra days for a second coat of stain and drying time. We started out sanding down the original finish. This took my son and husband and lots of sweat. We probably could have got it done faster if we had a belt sander but it was fun to do this as a family, so I didn't complain.

Then my husband measured out and cut the 5x8 board to fit all four sides of the table as a skirt over the prior design.

He then hammered the skirts directly onto the Southwest design cut outs.
I bet at this point you're wondering at what point did I do anything. Wellllll, I directed up until this point and then I got the task of staining. No heavy lifting for me. Not when I have 2 guys willing and able to help out.

I used Minwax Dark Walnut and did about 2 coats, with drying time in between.

I'm really happy about it. I have another furniture project lined up. This next project will only require staining and a little accessorizing. Stay tuned.

Console Table: Keep It or Ditch It?

noreply@blogger.com (Shari) — Mon, 07 May 2012 22:50:00 +0000

Calling all of my design-y type friends and readers. I need your help. I've had this console table that lives behind the couch in the great room for about 20 years. It's pine, natural, and heavy, which I love. But it has got a Southwest style to it, which I can't stand. I've disguised it with table cloths of all types and currently have a table runner and some interesting objects on it so maybe people won't notice. Oh and don't look at the brown thing underneath. That's going as soon as I decide on 2 small stools to go underneath if I keep it. I want to keep it because of the material of it and I believe I can do something to it so it doesn't look Southwest. But what? Or should I just get rid of it and start over? Any ideas?

Neon Painted Vintage Rhinestone Necklace - Tutorial

noreply@blogger.com (Shari) — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 15:40:00 +0000

Statement necklaces are what's in right now. I've seen them all over and want one badly. Color always attracts me. You must know that by now. So I was attracted to the following necklaces like a moth to light. I have dreamed about these very colorful and vibrant neon rhinestone necklaces in the Pure Essentia shop on Etsy. I wish I had $300 to drop for a necklace, but I don't. I searched the internet for tutorials on how to make them. There was this one from A Pair and a Spare that spray paints the whole necklace one color. And there was this one from Ashley Treece, that gave me my jumping off point. First I had to find a vintage rhinestone necklace. I prefer to repurpose something old. A new one would be fine too, but the vintage ones have great shapes to them. Just be careful that if it's a choker, that it's not too small. There's no way to size them larger. I scoured Ebay and found 2 that I purchased and that same day was running errands and found an Estate Sale store by my home. I'm waiting for the Ebay ones to arrive.

And there it was. Not super cheap, but $20 was fine. Be prepared to spend $20-$50 for a necklace. Ok. I had my necklace.

Next was a stop at the drug store to buy brightly colored nail polishes. Look for the $1-$2 bottles. That's all you need.

Make sure the necklace is clean and place it on a piece of white computer paper. Figure out your design with your colors and it's time to begin. The paper allows you to turn your work as you paint. Don't turn the necklace. Leave it in place and just move the paper. Paint each rhinestone carefully but plentifully. You can drop a drop of nail polish onto the stone. It's ok to cover the prongs.

You can always go back and do another coat. Get a toothpick for any miss steps with the nail polish. You can use it to wipe mistakes. Do one color at a time. I started with a yellow on the large teardrop rhinestones and then I figured out my colors from there. You don't need to have them dry between colors, but let it completely dry at the end.

I'd love to have a group get together to do painted necklaces. If people could get their necklaces, and come over, I would supply paint and work surfaces. Maybe even some food and drinks. Let me know.

Color Makes Life Brighter

noreply@blogger.com (Shari) — Sat, 14 Apr 2012 21:50:00 +0000

Here's a few photos that I took that are all about the colors. If you're like me, I live for color. Enjoy.

Garden Decor

noreply@blogger.com (Shari) — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 15:13:00 +0000

They've been called Garden Totems, but I'm not about that. A totem has great meaning. This to me is just fun decor and it decorates my outdoors, so I call it garden decor. Do you have a better name? I'd love to hear it. I first saw a garden totem by October Farm blog on Pinterest and that was my inspiration. I liked the shape of that totem, so I wanted to make one similar for my backyard.

I found all of my glass either at the antique flea market or in thrift stores. No piece was more than $2.00. But the dollar range was optimal. I used the directions from the October Farm blog but found that it was more cost effective to use clear silicone sealer from the hardware store rather than aquarium glue. (same thing essentially but more expensive). It was easy but took a couple of days to make due to drying time.

I glued pieces together in segments and when they dried, added them to other segments rather than building it from bottom up, or top down. I chose pieces that would work well together from bells, to candleholders, to bowls and plates of different sizes and shapes and a vase. The plates work well upside down. I took into consideration that if they are outdoors, I didn't want them to collect water. Also, I made sure that the glued surfaces were flat for the most part so that they would adhere to each other.

I chose my base as a wide plate so it would stand easily. I've also seen them as a narrow tubular base, like a vase with a piece of rebar stuck partway in the ground and sticking out of the ground, into the vase base to stand upright. I love this. It really sparkles in my garden.

Kitchen Succulent Gardens

noreply@blogger.com (Shari) — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 15:10:00 +0000

I was trying to think of some fun containers for more succulents. So I went to the thrift store and came across some vintage baking tins. They cost from $.50-$1.50. I purchased succulents from my local garden shop. They ranged from $2- $4 per container. The contrast of the greens of the plants with the aged metal of the baking tins really work well together.

I drilled holes in the tins for drainage.

These succulents were a great idea for the muffin tins. I could pull them apart and I've got 4 plants from each pot. So in essence, $1/plant.

I put each plant in each opening and added some soil. I only used the soil from the pot that the plant came in, no extra needed.

I added some little pebbles over the soil. Looks great, doesn't it?

For the jelly roll tin, I bought an assortment of succulents and just planted them throughout. I allowed a bit of space for growth.

Again, add some decorative pebbles and it looks quite charming. For the jelly roll pan, you could put a candle in the middle and that would make a fun centerpiece. Or even a bigger planted pot in the middle. It's fun to think what containers can be reused and repurposed for creative purposes. What can you come up with?

Succulent Obsessed

noreply@blogger.com (Shari) — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 16:58:00 +0000

The other day after lunch out with my husband, I walked by a little shop that sold succulents in odd containers such as vintage tins, teacups, etc. I became instantly inspired. We immediately went to my go to garden spot which I will blog about later and bought some succulents. Home we went, and I went straight to Pinterest for ideas. I also ran around madly looking for interesting containers to plant these succulents in. I had only a couple. I already had this little baby head planter with this succulent that I had to show you. Pot by MudPuppy.

One required my husband to drill a hole in for drainage. I arranged most of the succulents in this container and then I wanted a few little containers as well for the extras.

I used a little mason jar for this succulent. I put a layer of lava rocks on the bottom so water won't sit on the roots. These succulents need very little water. We'll see what happens.

In one of the containers, I came across this little teeny offshoot succulent. So I had to give it the smallest of pots sitting on this old fairy garden chair. Cute isn't it? This succulent obsession is not over. I plan on thrifting for more containers and will be posting a step by step tutorial.

Red Stool, White Dog

noreply@blogger.com (Shari) — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 18:14:00 +0000

Sometimes, there are no words necessary.

13 Years Times 2 Dogs

noreply@blogger.com (Shari) — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 05:19:00 +0000

It's a big deal to be able to say I have twin dogs, Flick and Summer, on the left and right, and they are 13 healthy years old. It's also another celebration as Foxy turned 4 as well. We got her in July and the people we got her from didn't know her birthday so we assigned it to the same day as Flick and Summer. So we celebrated 3 birthdays yesterday.

That deserves a cake. I got the recipe from this website. It's the Peanut Butter Delight Dog Birthday cake and doubled it to be able to put it in a cake pan. I baked it at the same temperature and time. It turned out perfect!

I made the Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting but but increased it to 2 packages, or 16 oz of low fat cream cheese, 3 teaspoons of honey, 1 teaspoon of cinnamon and 1 1/2 teaspoons of vanilla.

The cake turned out perfect. It was baked just exactly to the time needed and was the best looking cake that ever came out of my oven...and it was for the dogs.

But they loved it. Look at Flick's look of delight.

And Foxy loved it too. We had to give her a separate slice because she doesn't like to share.

Happy little dogs eating their birthday cake. Summer didn't look up once. She was so much in ecstacy.

They first tried to just eat the frosting off the cake. It was hilarious.

Then they realized the cake was awesome too. Big enough piece Flick?

Wordless Wednesday

noreply@blogger.com (Shari) — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 18:09:00 +0000

Wordless Wednesday

noreply@blogger.com (Shari) — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 16:44:00 +0000

Holiday Decor - A Bit DIY, A Bit Nutcracker

noreply@blogger.com (Shari) — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 21:23:00 +0000

Here's a taste of the craziness I call my Holiday Decor. It's part crafty and part Nutcracker to feed my obsession with Nutcrackers. Above I had some silver glittered feathers I put out in a little glass for shine!

I have lots of wood in my family room and I used some greenery to up the Holiday spirit and threw some berries and colorful garland around it.

I have a candleholder on my table to which I hung the Christmas Tree Paper ornaments I made

This is in my entry hall. I have more glittered feathers in a glass tube with bells in it on a candleholder.

Here's a quick idea. Put ornaments and a string of lights in a glass vase and you have some festive decor.

My vintage button tree has to be my favorite thing I've made ever. I took it and put it in a vintage candy dish that I spray painted with primer so it looks matte white. There are the mason jar snow globes that I made as well.

I inherited all of these vintage buttons so with color pins, I stuck them on a styrofoam cone. It took forever and a day but if you have nothing to do for a few days, make one.

One of my favorite nutcrackers, the Sushi Chef. If you know me, you know why.

Here's my kitchen cooking tree. I have wooden cooking utensils, colorful balls and hand knitted mini mittens on this tree.

Not really a decoration, but don't you love my little bar. This vintage cart cost me $40 at a flea market and I didn't have to do a thing to it.

These are the Nutcrackers in the place of honor, above the TV. These are the characters represented in the Nutcracker: the Mouse King, Clara, Dr. Drosselmeyer. Plus my very first nutcracker on the left and Santa on the right.

The mantle with nutcrackers and stockings.

Our Christmas tree is mostly Nutcrackers with a few other treasured ornaments thrown in. Above are some glittery nutcrackers.

Here's a close up of a knitted pair of mini mittens I made. Here's a pattern for them if you want to make them.

More nutcrackers.

In my kitchen, I keep the cooking/baking themed nutcrackers.

I used a vintage hankie to put under my plate rack. It's red and green, so...in keeping with the holiday theme.

In my kitchen, on a ledge behind our eating booth I put these little beer cork trees I made. Pretty self-explanatory. I hope you enjoyed a peek into my home.

My Other Half

noreply@blogger.com (Shari) — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 17:35:00 +0000

Did you know that I started a food blog? It's The Unassuming Foodie. I probably didn't mention it here because I was so caught up getting it started. I will be posting about food there that I make and how food I eat at restaurants and see in recipes online inspire me to make it my own.

Here's my latest post about something yummy I saw and then recreated it to my taste. Please visit and comment, often.

Mason Jar Snow Globe DIY

noreply@blogger.com (Shari) — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 19:02:00 +0000

I was shopping in Anthropologie last week and I saw this salt shaker with a little Christmas tree in it and some snow. Then I saw mason jars with the same. I had a bunch of jars at home and I knew I had to make these.
What you'll need:

mason jars and other jars of various sizes such as salt shakers, spice jars, jam jars, pickle jars
Christmas trees. I got a pack of 21 at Michael's for sale 50% off
other holiday items you may want to glue
mini ball ornaments
glue gun
Epsom salts

I took various trees and glued them to the lids of the jars. I added a little Epsom salt to desired amount into the jar. Close the lid and turn upside down. That's it!

A different jar, I took little trees and glued the ornaments onto the bottom of the trees and then put them in the jar upside down, added salt, closed the jar and those just float freely.

Such a simple project and so impressive! I love upcycling items I already have laying around.

Paper Christmas Tree Tutorial

noreply@blogger.com (Shari) — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 15:29:00 +0000

Paper is so versatile but without special cutting tools, I didn't think I could make anything. Then, I found this tutorial for these beautiful tree ornaments on a Russian blog and thought I had to make these this year. I'm showing you the steps I took and explaining them a bit more thoroughly than I saw on that site.

What you'll need:

scrapbooking paper
scissors or a circular cutter
paper folding bone/tool. I just used a credit card
needle and string thicker than thread. I used thin cotton yarn
glue gun and glue sticks

Cut 4 circles: 2 inch, 3 inch, 4 inch, and 5 inch.

Fold each in half with the design side on the outside.

Then fold each one in half 90 degrees from the last fold with the design side on the outside.

Turn the circles over and fold each one in half 45 degrees from the other folds. the design side should be on the inside now.

Flip the circles so the design sides are on the outside and the fold you just made folds inward. Easy so far, right?

Now your circles all look like this.

Take the smallest circle, thread your needle but don't cut the yarn. String the needle up from the non-design side of the circle through to the design side. Make a loop desired size and string back from the design side to the non-design side. Cut the yarn with enough length to make a little knot. cut off extra yarn.

Turn it back so the design side is on the outside.

You are going to start the glueing now. The circles will fit inside each other as above. Don't push them all the way in but leave the sections so that the edge of the circles flare out a bit. See finished pictures.

Place the glue dot just on one side at a time; front and then back. Add the next section and repeat until complete. That's it. You're done!

Nuts and Bolts Box DIY

noreply@blogger.com (Shari) — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 00:51:00 +0000

I was inspired to make this decorative box after seeing the below picture of a resin box on The Foundary. The best part? It was practically free.

The resin box from The Foundary that inspired me was priced at $29.

I started with a wood balsa box that held sea salt caramels I purchased for a recipe for Thanksgiving. I removed the labels and it was a perfect canvas for my project.

Then I scoured the garage for various nuts, screws, and bolts of all kinds. Shhh. Don't tell my husband.

I started randomly glueing the hardware onto the box using a glue gun after spray painting the top.

Spray paint primer is awesome for this project, because it not only primes the wood and metal, but it's also the paint that I used for the project. It results in a matte finish which is pretty classy.

Here's the finished box. Pretty interesting as a little decorative item, don't you think?

So, a practically free project that took minimal time. What's not to like? And just think of the possibilities. Boxes hold holiday candy and cookies, or you probably have any box laying around the house. Don't like the hardware? Think of other items you could use: rubberbands, beads, rocks. The possibilities are only limited by your imagination. What makes it interesting is using the same type of item in multiples.

Fixing Up an Old Chandelier

noreply@blogger.com (Shari) — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 18:21:00 +0000

I need help from you, my crafty friends. I saw this vintage chandelier hanging in a friend's kitchen eating area when they first moved in and said, "when you replace this light, I'll take it". So a year later or so, I got a message; "it's yours if you want it, come and get it". I did. It's not as shiny gold as the picture and shows lots of age. It needs an overhaul. I'm not sure if I want to put it in my closet, my dining room, or my back porch. So, my question to you is should I paint it gold, bronze, silver or what?

Bedroom Color Enhancement

noreply@blogger.com (Shari) — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 02:37:00 +0000

I've lived in this house for 8 years and just now realized that my bedroom has not reflected my husband's and my personalities. It's been blah and beige for way too long. It's had little furniture except for a bed and an old, ugly chaise lounge that I didn't even want to show. It has built-in night tables, dressers, a frame around the headboard, and even an entertainment center. Even with the padded headboard that I made, it was past time for a color enhancement. I started with knowing I did not want to spend a lot of money. It wasn't necessary. First came art above my bed. It took quite a while to find something that fit the space. I got this print on The Foundary for $150. It had many colors which almost froze me with fear to continue. But I pursued on the internet, and in many stores, multiple times. I got advice from friends and yet it was the next item I purchased that sealed the deal. Adding color without changing much is easy. It's done with the accessories. It's done with art. It can also be done with paint....no ready to do that yet. I also needed some functional furniture.

When I saw these amazing pillows for my bed, I suddenly realized that my room of grey and yellow just wasn't going to happen. These were a little more than I wanted to spend but they really bring color ($29 each at Pier One)

I added table lamps ($39 each at Home Goods), a chair (on sale for $135 at World Market) and accent table ($39 at Home Goods) as well as a fun pillow for the chair ($34.95 at Pier One) and a crocheted throw that I made. I had the standing lamp and just changed the shade ($12 at Target).

Next came the yellow mohair throw ($21 on QVC) and an end of the bed wood slat bench ($64 with coupons at World Market). I know I'll never stop hearing from my husband "you got something else to bump into in the night". I'm such a klutz. The last step will be drapes and since it's taken me 8 years to make decisions, it may take me a bit longer. I am getting new blinds though. How do you like those verticals, huh?

Kabocha: What Rhymes with That?

noreply@blogger.com (Shari) — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 01:46:00 +0000

I came across some interesting recipes the past couple of days watching tv and browsing the internet and thought it would be a good time to do some recipe testing for Thanksgiving and at the same time feed my family dinner.

I just learned of a squash called Kabocha. It's supposedly has a starchy texture like potatoes. I came across this recipe for mashed Kabocha and thought, hmm, may be fun to make something other than my normal mashed potatoes or at least incorporate Kabocha into a mashed potato recipe to add color and a little bit different flavor. I bought 2 and prepared and mashed them according to the directions. I then added minced and sauteed garlic, butter, salt and cream. I didn't add any cheese this time.

As a garnish, I saw the White House chef on The Nate Show the other day making Caramelized pepitas which were calling my name but I used Arizona Dreaming spice mix from Penzey's Spices that my friend Kristin got me instead of the espellete powder, which is like cayenne pepper.

Pleasantly surprised I found the texture to actually be like potatoes and it's my new favorite squash for many uses. The biggest issue is peeling the darn thing. Next time, instead of preparing it by peeling and dicing it to steam, I would cut it in half, take out the seeds and bake it in a dish face down at 350 degrees for about 45 min-hour, then simply scoop it out and mash it. My blister on my finger would agree.

Fancy Pants Pumpkins

noreply@blogger.com (Shari) — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 17:15:00 +0000

I am in a creative burst lately and was once again inspired by Pinterest to decorate rather than carve pumpkins using items I already had. I was in the store today and found these beautiful white pumpkins that were calling out to be decorated. Yes they don't match. So what. Yes, the colors have nothing to do with each other. So what. Each pumpkin wanted it's own style. Using vintage ribbon, lace, buttons and beads, I put the whole thing together using a glue gun. One's a sexy boudoir pumpkin and the other is a retro pumpkin.