Drop it like it's hot!

Egg drop soup that is. I have been wanting to make this delicious, easy recipe for a while now and Lindsay and I both bought a carton of eggs on Friday, so I decided tonight was the night. Here's the recipe that my mom taught me when I was younger. The Chinese restaurant in our town always added the optional vegetables, but it's just as yummy without!

Egg Drop Soup
3 cups chicken broth

2 eggs

1 Tbsp. cornstarch
1 tsp. soy sauce (add more to taste)

1/8 tsp. ground ginger

green onions, chopped (optional)

water chestnuts, chopped (optional)

frozen peas (optional)

carrots, chopped (optional)

Bring broth to a rolling boil, add soy sauce, ginger and optional vegetables. In a cup or small bowl, stir together cold water and cornstarch until smooth. Add cornstarch mixture gradually until the soup is the desired thickness.
In a small bowl, whisk the eggs. Add beaten eggs in slow steady stream, while stirring the broth in a clockwise motion, eggs will cook in about a minute or so. If you add eggs before it's thickened the eggs will puff when cooked and will not cook to ribbons.

Garnish with green onions.

What a perfectly simple recipe for these cool nights!

Test your Color IQ

On Friday my good friend, Jessie, sent me this little quiz to test your color IQ. I'm proud to say, I scored a 4 (zero is the best) and something like 1400+ is the highest (worst). Apparently I am slightly deficient in the low purple-blue areas. Test your Color IQ!

Fantastic, Flavorful Fall Foods

Invitation design by Katie Larson

Today we had the fall party that I mentioned here. It was absolutely fantastic, it was a beautiful (but very hot) Fall day. We had a fantastic spread and lots of friends join us at the park for an afternoon of leisure, food, and friends.

The spread included: Turkey Chili, French Dip Sandwiches, Cheesy Potatoes, Corn Casserole, Stuffing, Roquefort Pear Salad, Cheese Dip & Chips, Cornbread, Pumpkin Bread, Crinkles, Derby Pie, Scotcheroos, Apple Crisp, Chocolate Chip cookies and the list goes on! I brought the French Dip & Salad, here are the recipes:

Roquefort Pear Salad
5 star rating, 494 reviews (I would give it a 5+, maybe the best salad I've ever had... although it got a little wilted in the hot sun)

1 head leaf lettuce, torn into bite-size pieces
3 pears - peeled, cored and chopped
5 ounces Roquefort cheese, crumbled
1 avocado - peeled, pitted, and diced
1/2 cup thinly sliced green onions
1/4 cup white sugar
1/2 cup pecans
1/3 cup olive oil
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 1/2 teaspoons white sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons prepared mustard
1 clove garlic, chopped
1/2 teaspoon salt
fresh ground black pepper to taste

In a skillet over medium heat, stir 1/4 cup of sugar together with the pecans. Continue stirring gently until sugar has melted and caramelized the pecans. Carefully transfer nuts onto waxed paper. Allow to cool, and break into pieces.
For the dressing, blend oil, vinegar, 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar, mustard, chopped garlic, salt, and pepper.
In a large serving bowl, layer lettuce, pears, blue cheese, avocado, and green onions. Pour dressing over salad, sprinkle with pecans, and serve.

Easy Slow Cooker French Dip (edited based on reviews)

4.5 star rating, 1,156 reviews (I would give it a 5, tasty, easy recipe)

5 lbs rump roast
1 can Campbell's Beef Consomme
2 cans Campbell's condensed French onion soup
6 oz beer (not light beer, add more to your liking)

1 pkg Au Jus mix

3 tsp. garlic powder

1 tsp. black pepper
16 French rolls

16 slices provolone cheese (optional)

Trim excess fat from the rump roast, and place in a slow cooker. Add liquids, Au Jus mix and seasoning. Cook on Low setting for 7 hours.
If oven is available: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Split French rolls, and spread with butter, top with cheese (if desired). Bake 10 minutes, or until heated through.
Slice the meat on the diagonal, and place on the rolls. Serve the sauce for dipping.

Both of these recipes were a big hit and I got lots of compliments... everything at the gathering was absolutely delicious.

BackSnack Pack

On Thursday night I volunteered with a work group to help pack food bags for Harvesters BackSnack Program in KC.

"Harvesters offers the BackSnack program, which provides backpacks of food to low-income children for the weekend, to combat weekend hunger. The program creates a partnership between Harvesters, a participating school and a local corporate, civic or religious organization."

Last year, Harvesters started with 650 students in the program, by the end of the year that number had grown to over 8,000 children! This weekend is the start of the BackPack program for this school year, with 2,500 students enrolled. On Thursday night we had 28 volunteers, worked for 2 hours and created approximately 1,080 bags full of food to go out to students. I was slightly disappointed in this number, we were working fast and we packed less than half the amount needed for one week!

I was at the beginning of the assembly line, so I didn't see everything that went into the bags... here's what I can remember: chocolate milk, 2% milk (they were packaged so they didn't need to be refrigerated), Campbell's vegetable soup, juice, canned fruit, a granola bar, chocolate pudding, Easy Mac, Dinty Moore canned meal, and even more. I thought they got a great variety of yummy foods! I toured the facility before we got started packing and it was really neat to see all of the storage areas, some for disaster relief (which was low because a shipment had just gone out to Texas), a huge refrigerator and freezer area, "shopping" area for local food pantries, and other BackSnack bags (they rotate 3 different food bags so the kiddos don't get the same thing each week).

Here's some info from Harvesters supporting the program:

Why is Harvesters so committed to this program? Because it makes such a difference. Food does much more than alleviate hunger. Teachers involved with BackSnack report the following:
• 68% see improvements in grades and behavior
• 84% see improvements in attendance
• 71% see improvements in social skills
• 83% see improvements in self-esteem
• 77% see improvements in children’s sense of responsibility

Once I got to work yesterday I immediately signed up for the remaining opening volunteer times... the earliest being in February 2009! I think everyone wants to support this great program.

Nate's New Home-Sweet-Home

My brother just closed on a house in Augusta, GA, where he is stationed for the next four years in the Navy. The house is perfect for a rehab project, he bought the house for a great price and it is an area that is being rejuvenated and near the new August National Golf Course (just ranked as number 5 in ESPN's America's 100 most important sports venues!). We're all really excited for Nate and can't wait to help him on his new big project.
Currently, the house is deemed "unlivable" so his first steps are just to get the house in living condition. He has some big plans for the project and has been busy creating renderings on Google's SketchUp. His first step is to move the existing, outdated kitchen to where the current dining room is located, just off the carport. He has drawn up the cabinet layout and asked for opinion on wall colors, cabinets, & countertops. Below are some of the inspirational images I am suggesting and some edits to his rendering:

Some inspirational images for Nate's new kitchen.

Nate's kitchen rendering with maple cabinets and cherry cabinets in the island. Cool blue-gray wall color and charcoal Corian countertops.

Nate's kitchen rendering with maple cabinets and cherry cabinets in the island. Warm gray wall color and charcoal Corian countertops.

Nate's kitchen rendering with all maple cabinets, chartruese wall color and stainless steel countertops.

Congratulations and good luck, Nate!

Happy Gillis

Today I ate lunch with two work friends at Happy Gillis, in the Columbus Park area of Kansas City (east of Rivermarket). What a great area in the city! I need to explore it more.... I hear they have a 3rd Friday event similar to First Friday! I got their most popular, Curry Chicken Salad sandwich, it was amazing and fresh and the presentation was just as inviting.

Finally Finished!

I have been working on my Grandma's 85th birthday party for the longest time and we finally had enough of it planned to send invitations. I got them all sent out on Wednesday morning. Here is the final, purple and bird-loving invitation!

HomeGrown

Image of RushWade Studio

Last night I attended AIGA KC event series: HomeGrown. "Our fair city now offers the 6th largest concentration of visual artists and the 3rd largest population of architects in the nation. AIGA KC celebrates and embraces this thriving creative community by inviting diverse "homegrown" talent to share their hard-earned stories of success."

Fresher than Fresh traveling snowcone mobile

Last night featured dialogue between Brady Vest of Hammerpress and Ingred Sidie and Michelle Sonderegger of Design Ranch at RushWade Photography. There was also a "snowcone reception" by Fresher than Fresh before the event. I didn't get a snowcone, but I'm really regretting it today, because my favorite blog, Design*Sponge, did an interview with Lindsay Laricks today!

I also bought this poster featuring the event for five-dollah!

Whoa, Baby

Ok, I can't hold it in any longer... I'm obsessed with baby & kids bedding. When did these rooms become so posh? (Chalk it up to materialism...)
There are so many fun options out there right now for kids and babies, in much bolder and brighter colors than years past. In the October edition of print mag, there was article discussing the rise in Million Dollar Babies (because that's about as much as it takes to afford this babymod look). The trends that they pointed out were: orange, sans-serif type, stripes/patterns, illustrated animals, and shapes/dots. Here's one of my favorite quotes from the article:

The article also touches on "yoga moms" who are eco-conscious and dislike commercial licensed characters as much as I do... thank goodness for this trend!

Below are some of my favorites:

I love the transportation, robot, nature, and animal motifs for boys. Also, what graphic designer isn't going to love an alphabet print?

I'm not a big pink fan and like more modern colors colors for girls. I love the polka dots, stripes, and other unique shapes/patterns for girls.

I've always thought that I would let the sex of my first child be a surprise... but I don't know if I will actually be able to do that when the time comes (many years from now). I'm such a planner and after talking with an expecting co-worker, I'm realizing how hard that would be planning-wise. There are lots of great neutrals out there for babies now, especially when the color lines are starting to blur between boys and girls.

I just had to include these farm-themed prints! Being from Iowa, you see all sorts of tractor and other traditional farm prints for babies... I'm glad there's finally a modern take on a country look if families must insist on decorating with this theme.

I also love the idea of handmade elements in a baby room. The above quilts are from Etsy designers. I love the Alexander Henry Turtle Bay fabric... how perfect is that for me?

The above looks were found on these babymod websites: Nurseryworks, Modern Nursery, alphamom.com, 2modern, Design Public, Room & Board, Etsy, Hable Construction, and Target.

DISCLAIMER: I am in NO way thinking of babies for myself now, give me 7+ years or so... right now I'm satisfied with looking from a distance!

New & Improved

About a year ago I was in need of a new calendar system. Being the frugal person I am I was not ready to commit to some $20 pocket calendar. (yes, this is how frugal I am) Yet in desperate need for some sort of organization I ended up printing a years worth of calendar pages on copy paper and kept it in my purse. It was nothing cute or glamourous, but it was cheap! Fast forward to 9 months later (now) and my makeshift planner was really starting to get torn up and was in bad shape... I was embarrassed to have it!

With my new Composed Passion style in mind, I decided I needed an fresh, updated pocket calendar. Again, I went shopping and as my tastes have changed... so has the price range. Now I was looking at desk agendas for $73 from Hable Construction or $60 versions at russell + hazel! I also couldn't find exactly what I wanted, I don't have as much of a need for a weekly calendar anymore, just a month's view is fine.

I decided I could make another... but nicer this time! I made this pocket calendar with paper samples I already had (65 lb. Classic Laid Paper in Continental Blue) from Neenah Paper, scraps of Amy Butler Fabric, and (with the help of co-workers) used a binding machine we have at work... it cost me practically zero dinero. Now, that's my kind of style!

Colorstrology

I saw this Colorstrology book created by Pantone Inc. at Paper-Source a couple of months ago and was surprised at how well it matched me. How About Orange recently posted the internet version.

April 24 . Ultramarine (Pantone 17-4037)

Creative . Responsible . Nurturing

You are creative and talented and can achieve success and monetary wealth by connecting your abilities with action. The performing arts are a good vehicle for you and many people born on this day have lovely voices (ok, not all of it fits me!). Sensual and attractive, you are capable of pulling good things toward you. Being in a loving relationship is vital to your well-being and you need someone who is attentive and devoted. Your personal color helps to balance your moods. Wearing, meditating or surround yourself with Ultramarine integrates your need for artistic freedom with financial security.

Practically Posh

I just read a great book: Practically Posh by Robyn Moreno with several great tips for a budget-conscious young lady. Here are a couple quotes that I thought were great.

Composed Passion

Does that sound like me? For the past couple months I have been working on figuring out my Style Statement through a "workbook and inspirational narrative" by Carrie McCarthy and Danielle LaPorte. "Based on the 80/20 principle, the first word represents your foundation, your 80%, your first nature. The second word is your creative edge, your distinction— the 20% of your picture that motivates and moves you forward."

I went into this book thinking I was something along the lines of Classic Feminine. After spending a lot of time going through this workbook and pondering the what means the most to me and when I am my true self I discovered I am Composed Passion.

Here's the book's definition for Composed:
Spirit: Composed aspires to successfully integrate body, mind, and spirit. Composed is arranged, poised, gracious, and refined. They love to create order and ease for themselves or for others, whether in physical space and surroundings or in operational solution and systems. Composed is always steadily and calmly pulling together things, people, and their own thoughts and emotions. They prefer well-managed timed, tidy spaces, and healthy, compartmentalized feelings. Inner peace and feeling “at home” are synonymous to them. Ideally, their home or work space is a temple, a sanctuary that allows for reflection, relaxation, and serenity. When stretched, Composed may become fixated on details or generate a false sense of security. Practical and pragmatic, yet often creatively inclined. Composed thrives on artistic expression or active appreciation of the arts. Composed innately strives for balance, from which comes straight, confidences, resolve, and moxie.
Photo from Room & Board
Look & Feel: Put together, coordinated, structured, organized, staged, laid out, calming, soothing, peaceful, tranquil. Can range from contemporary and modern to holistically influenced simplicity.
Photo from Midwest Modern by Amy Butler

Passion describes the other 20% that keeps me going, the enthusiasm for everything that I do in my daily life... graphic design (typography, color, illustration, photography), design, cooking, decorating, a good book, outdoors, gardening, etc.

It's Turkey Time!

This morning at a park near my apartment I saw four turkeys by the side of the road! It's officially turkey time. I came home and made an excellent turkey stew with lots of vegetables from my garden and my parent's garden (kind of morbid, huh?). Here's the recipe:

Ground Turkey & Garden Vegetable Stew
1 lb. ground turkey, cooked
3 large tomatoes, cubed
2 potatoes, cubed
1/2 red onion, chopped
4 stalks celery, diced
1/2 red pepper, diced
1/2 green pepper, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2/3 cup carrots, diced
3 cups water
2 beef bouillon cubes
1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped
2 tbsp fresh chives, chopped
3 tsp black pepper
2 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp salt
1 dash chili powder

Brown ground turkey and chop all vegetables into bite sized portions. Add all ingredients into 2.5 quart crock pot. Cook on low for 5-6 hours. Enjoy!

Nutritional Analysis calculated by Calorie Count Plus

Spoonflower

I have been thinking about printing my own fabric for a couple of weeks now, either by screen-printing or some other method. Recently I found a Japanese designer on Etsy doing the same thing, under the name Kalla Design. All of her items are unique to her, which I think is really awesome. Apparently some other women were also frustrated with using the same fabric as other crafters for their own projects and started a company called Spoonflower, with their husbands.

How exciting? Spoonflower is currently in a beta version and inviting members to join. The logo caught my eye because it looks pretty similar to packaging design project I worked on while in college...