Ottoman Progress

I've been cutting a lot of these


To make some of this beautifuness


And here it is so far

I kinda love it.

Why no Blog?

Because I saw this in a window last month and decided to make it rather than spend $500 on it.



I'm being crafty.

The Long Awaited Foyer

So, I finally got the party pictures and here are the best shots of the foyer. The space itself is rather tight so camera shots in the room do not do it justice. But here is a living room shot with the party-foyer in the back.



And another blurry shot with vixen, Kristen. We left the hand stamped panels up. Why not, eh? If you don't remember why you should care about our foyer, scroll down a few posts.



It really looks great. It's more fun than eight layers of chipping wallpaper and cracked drywall.

Kelso's Curried Nuts

Ingredients:

Step 1
1/4 cup h2o
2 Tbl unsalted butter
2 tsp brown sugar
1 cup cashews
1 cup pistachios
1 c pecans
(used unsalted nuts)

Step 2
2 Tbl sugar
2 tsp salt
2 tsp curry powder
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp coriander
(spices all ground)

Preheat oven to 350. In a large bowl mix step 2. In saucepan bring h2o, butter and brown sugar to a simmer.
Add nuts and stir consistently until liquid is absorbed. Add glazed nuts to spice mixture. Drop in a 1/2 cup of dried fruit (cherries and apricots work well) and stir to coat



Add to parchment lined baking sheet, cook for 10 minutes. Pull out of oven, stir and then cook for 10 more minutes. Ta-da. Kelso recommends storing these in an air-tight container as your house will smell like curry for days and days!



** I altered her recipe a bit. I only used half the salt, added 3/4 cup Pepitas, 1/4 cup sliced Almonds and a handful of Brazil nuts. I probably used about a cup of dried tart cherries too, rather than a 1/2 cup. It was simple and delicious, not to mention nutritious.