Personalized Touches

We're currently renting a house, which of course has its ups and downs. If something breaks, we don't have to pay to fix it. But our hands are relatively tied when it comes to decorating and revamping an area, which drives me nuts!! However, this does require creative improv and thinking outside the box. One easy way of making this space our own? Wall hangings! My daughter was given her name in nice wooden letters when she was born (Hobby Lobby), but the color combination didn't match well with the new drapes in her room. So I pulled out my big book of craft/scrapbooking paper (again, Hobby Lobby), a big vat of Mod Podge and went to town. This is going to look great in her room, especially since the high ceilings and plain off white walls are in dire need of a personal touch (not to mention a fresh coat of paint... But I'll take what I can get). Cheers!

Salt Block Watermelon

Seriously, why did I take me this long to realize this? During the summer, we constantly have watermelon in the fridge, and the hubby always salts his watermelon. Well, tonight I was looking around for salt block cooking recipes when it hit me: chop the watermelon on the salt block! So I pulled the block out of the freezer, got to chopping, and holymotherofgod it was good. I need to be using this salt block much more often than I am.

Butter Inspiration

Man, oh man do I love Pinterest! I could stay on it all day! One of my favorite things to pin are recipes, but they tend to be hit or miss in reality. No big deal to me because I enjoy taking a recipe and making it my own (ask my mom or hubby - I rarely follow the recipe anyway). So when a friend pinned Make Your Own Flavored Butters from YourHomebasedMom, my imagination ran wild! (By the way, I checked out this website and found the creator, Leigh Ann, on Pinterest. I swear, we could be best friends...)

A little bit about me: I'm a born and raised Oklahoma girl with a Florida dad and Texas/Mississippi mom. I grew up Southern. And what do southerners love more than sweet tea? Jesus. After that, butter. Before I got married and moved to Phoenix, I remember a sweet little tea room, Alicia's, that had the BEST little muffins with orange marmalade butter. To this day the thought of that butter makes me salivate. Sadly, the tea room closed its doors several years ago and I never got the recipe for those fabulous little muffins.

Thanks to these recipes, I'm craving muffins and flavored butter. Sweet, savory... all of them. Maybe a smoked gouda muffin with her roasted red pepper butter? Or what about a vanilla lavender muffin with a creamy lemon butter? And don't get me started on corn bread muffins with honey butter! What other flavor combinations are out of the ordinary but would make an out of this world breakfast? Oooh, the possibilities are endless. I'll start playing around with the idea and post the recipes that are a big hit with the family.

Patriotic Summer Dessert

Summertime is always my favorite time of year. Hot weather, vacations, bikinis, and lots of outdoor fun. And what better way to celebrate summer than an easy, light, fairly healthy dessert that is reminiscent of our country's birthday!

Grab freshly washed blueberries and strawberries (diced) and homemade whipped cream. I use heavy whipping cream and either sugar or maple syrup (trust me on this, it's divine). Beat it until it holds its shape. Then layer the berries and cream in a clear glass and eat up! Have a happy 4th!

Where's your inspiration?

  So successful people write out their goals, 5-year-plan etc. I haven’t written out something like that since college. Maybe that would help the flailing, or maybe not… But it couldn’t hurt. The only problem is you have to have goals in order to write them down. I’m stuck. Where do you start?

  An article came out indicating there is a renewed interest in typewriters. Some coffee shops have now set aside a typewriter day when laptops aren’t allowed. I have to say, I like this throwback. To me, renewing an old idea tends to jump start creativity. Memories can be so powerful, especially for someone in the fine arts. Typewriters remind me of my childhood, watching my dad type away on one of his papers. Maybe I should invest in an old typewriter and keep it prominently displayed, ready to be used when the urge strikes.

2013

Man, am I bad, or am I bad? I continually have the desire to write and share, yet I get so friggin lazy. And every time I pick it back up, I claim "This time, it's for real!"

In theory, I am a writer. It’s what I like to do and enjoy doing. It’s why I went to college. But life can get in the way, and kids can make it difficult to concentrate and form an idea. So this is where I will collect my inspiration and ideas for writing. I may not have hours a day to commit to it right now, but I can save my inspiration and topic ideas. While trying to inspire myself, maybe I’ll inspire a few others in the process. So let's see how it goes. I love being able to look back at the writings of my life and remember those moments. It's just about taking time out of my day to make it work. So let's make it work!!

The Sing Off - Season 3

It’s back!! This is by far my favorite reality TV show. For those of you who don’t know, The Sing Off is a competition using voices only.  Singers will even emulate drums and other percussion sounds, called “beat boxing.” Last night, we were introduced to 8 of the 16 groups. Two were sent home.

First off, we have a new judge! Sara Bareilles joined Ben Folds and Shawn Stockman. Honestly, she’s a much better fit than Nicole Scherzinger. Nicole, although a talented vocalist, is more known for her sex appeal than her musical ability. Plus, her critiques were slow and syrup-like. Sarah has more credentials; she’s a songwriter and was in a college vocal group. So we now have Ben, who brings highly technical musical critiques, Shawn who mastered blending and harmonizing while in Boyz II Men, and Sara giving the best of both worlds with a feminine flair. Like many women judges, she tends to be more encouraging and less critical than her male counterparts.

The first to perform was YellowJackets, an all-male group from the University in Rochester. Their rendition of “Wavin’ Flag” was tight and full of energy. They featured 4 or 5 solos instead of the typical 1 or two, which shows me the depths of the group’s talent. They succeeded in a flawless key change, although I felt they got so loud at times that it was difficult to hear the lead vocal. Hearing it on TV as opposed to live can have drawbacks.

Next was Fannin Family, a group of 11 – yes, 11! – brothers and sisters, who sang “Who Says.” They worked well together, and blending wasn’t a problem. However, the lead vocal was 14. I hate to say anything bad about someone that young, but she just wasn’t vocally strong enough to carry it. The song started out too low, causing the rest of the group to back off so you could hear her, then she went a little flat at the end. Sounded like nerves. More practice and experience would benefit them greatly.

Next was Afro-Blue from Howard University, singing their version of “Put Your Records On.” I was awed with their jazzy, soulful style. The girls especially have lots of personality. They blend well AND have smooth, unique voices. I love how Shawn compared the lead vocal Christie’s voice to “warm butter on grits.” Yeah, she was that good.

Fourth was Delilah, the all-girls group composed from season 1 and 2 contestants. They sang “Grenade” in a slower style, reminding me of a power ballad in the 80s. The lead singer, Amy was fabulous (even if she was wearing a jacket from Madonna’s wardrobe). It’s difficult to sound that smooth when singing that high. The group showed perfect pitch with their tight harmonies and included lots of dynamics.

I wasn’t looking forward to Urban Method, artists from Denver.  One of their lead vocals is a rapper (ironic?). Very out-of-the-box for a capella, and he raps well,  but I don’t like rap. I also don’t like the song “Love the Way You Lie.” That being said, the song sounded like a track instead of voices, so I have to give big props to the beat boxers and background vocals.

Next was Cats Pajamas, 5 guys from Branson who perform 200 shows a year. They sang “Some Kind of Wonderful” and technically did a great job. With only 5 voices, they have a clean sound and use tight, difficult harmonies very classic in a capella music. Lots of choreography, but not very current. I wondered why they were here if they’ve already found success in Branson…

Kinfolk 9 is difficult to critique. I was moved by their story of sacrifice and wanting to do this to better family situations. They sang “Secrets,” with a lot of their own flavor. Personally, I feel songs by OneRepublic don’t need to be doctored that much. The lead male vocal has a strong voice and wide range, and I liked how they dropped the beat in certain areas for emphasis. Overall, the mood was a little sad though.

Last of the night was Vocal Point, an all-boys group from BYU. Their rendition of “Jump Jive and Wail” lived up to the name. They have lots of vocal energy, and the ending was really cool trumpet sounds, ending on an unresolved chord. They did a modulation that got great kudos from Ben Folds. They’re really fun to watch.

SPOILER!

This week, the judges voted two groups off. To me, Afro-Blue and Delilah are obvious frontrunners, so I knew they were safe. The first to be eliminated was Fannin Family, which came as no surprise. They weren’t ready yet. The surprise came when they voted off Cats Pajamas. I was thinking Kinfolk 9 was going home. I wondered if they were voted off because they don’t really need it, or if they were just driven to give Kinfolk 9 a second chance. But at the same time, I thought they needed to be more current and original. I guess the judges did too.

Next week, we meet 8 more groups. Can't wait!