Come See Our New Start

The hubs and I are starting over in more ways than one!

We are proud to introduce our new blog REOlistic Renovation.  We will be blogging about our big adventure as new homeowners of a foreclosure and how we turn it from totally drab to FAB!  Come visit us soon!

There are lots of tweaks and updates to be made.  I wanted to introduce all you lovelies first while it is still under construction so you can all have a sneak peek!  Hope to see you there!

New Years Day Pumpkin Cake

I love waking up to a freshly baked breakfast cake.  Goes perfectly with a steaming cup of coffee.  One less thing to think about after a night of (ahem) too much fun.

This one is so easy and uses simple ingredients.  I also love to get rid of that extra can of pumpkin I have sitting there in my pantry after all the holiday festivities are over.

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups vegetable oil

2 cups white sugar

4 eggs

3 cups whole wheat flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

2 teaspoons baking powder

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon salt

2 cups solid pack pumpkin puree

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease and flour a nonstick bundt pan. Sift together flour, soda, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Set aside.

2. In a large bowl, combine oil and sugar. Add eggs one at a time and mix well. Add the flour mixture and beat until smooth. Add nuts and pumpkin and blend until smooth. Pour batter into greased bundt pan.

3. Bake at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) for 1 hour or until a toothpick inserted into the center of cake comes out clean. Cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack and finish cooling. Dust with confectioners sugar before serving.

Celebrating National Cupcake Day. Adorable Mini Cupcake Ornaments.

Happy National Cupcake Day!

I go through Etsy kicks.  I am on one now.  I have been stalking different Etsy sellers daily this past week and ordering up a storm.  I just love supporting artists doing it on their own and you can find the most unique hard to find things.

Today's kick...Baby's 1st Christmas Mini Cupcake Ornaments from Amy Miller Designs.  Pure cuteness.  I think I need one of these for Baby Posh Play.  What do you think?

My Publisher Photo Book Review and Coupon

This holiday season we are FINALLY giving our parents photo books of our wedding.  Last year waiting for baby to come we just didn't get it together enough to get the books finished.  Our parents have been making comments for over a year now so we really owe them something beautiful.

We found MyPublisher online while researching which book to use.  My hubs has the full on design setup in his office so he was really serious about finding the BEST company possible.  We used another company for our sign in book for our wedding and really liked them so it was hard to change only with the amazing deals MyPublisher is offering we couldn't resist.

I fancy myself quite the design critique from my years in wine marketing only it's been (ahem) a little while so the old creative juices have stopped flowing the way they used to.  No worries!  MyPublisher offers different book styles and a really user friendly step by step program to put your pictures in order and make them look amazing!  I chose the Wedding Book design for mine and just tweaked here and there to make it work with the overall story I wanted to tell.

From now until December 19th the books are 50% off with coupon code "Book50" just plug it in during checkout and you are good to go!  Such a deal!

I can't wait for our parents to open their books on Christmas morning.  Did I also forget to tell you this...our books came out to less than $40 each!  What a steal!

Rainy Day Chili

Last month we attended a friend's housewarming party.  In the pouring rain.  The house was all lit up with hundreds of candles.  Wine and mojitos were flowing and friends new and not so new were sharing an evening in together warming up the house with good conversation and laughter.  We pretty much forgot it was raining once the food was served.  The hostess served up the most amazing chili we have ever eaten out of a huge Le Creuset French Oven. She spooned it over guest's choice of hot dogs or baked potatoes.  I haven't eaten a chili dog in YEARS and I have no idea why.  They are so good and perfect for a cold day. She had fun toppings like Fritos, grated cheddar cheese, sour cream, chives, crumbled bacon and more.  Such a great party food!

Her recipe includes some really fabulous secret ingredients including strongly brewed coffee, chocolate and beer. We made our own tweaks and now want to share it with all you lovelies.

Rainy Day Chili

2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 onions, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1.25 pound ground beef
1 pound beef sirloin, cubed
1 (14.5oz) can peeled/diced tomatoes in juice
1 (12 fluid ounce) bottle dark beer
1 cup strongly brewed coffee
2 (6 ounce) cans tomato paste
1 (14 ounce) can beef broth
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
3 1/2 tablespoons chili powder
2-3 teaspoons cumin (to taste)
1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon salt
2 (15 ounce) cans black beans
3 fresh habenero peppers, seeded and chopped

-Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat.

-Cook onions, garlic, ground beef and cubed sirloin in oil for 10 minutes, or until the meat is well browned and the onions are tender.

-Mix in the diced tomatoes with juice, dark beer, coffee, tomato paste and beef broth.

-Season with brown sugar, chili powder, cumin, cocoa powder, oregano, cayenne pepper, coriander and salt.

-Stir in 1 can of the beans and hot chile peppers.

-Reduce heat to low, and simmer for 1 1/2 hours.

-Stir in the remaining can of beans, and simmer for another 30 minutes.

(Picture courtesy of Kyle Dreier Photography who has some of the most gorgeous food photography I have ever seen).

Carolina Herrera Wedding Dress For Sale

After a year I am finally ready to part with my amazingly beautiful Carolina Herrera wedding dress.  We just moved into our new house and there just isn't room for it.  I would love to see a stunning bride walk down the aisle in it instead of it just collecting dust in my closet.

If you have any family or friends getting married soon and think they might be interested send them this link.



Adorable Christmas Stockings

I love Pottery Barn Kids.  I got all Baby Posh Play's bedding there and some other little odds and ends for his room.

This holiday I decided we needed new family stockings.  I still have mine from when I was little only my hubby doesn't and Baby Posh Play needed his first stocking so I decided to splurge and get us all new ones.  I ordered these cute ones from Pottery Barn Kids and got our names embroidered on them.  They are supposed to arrive today!

For only $19 each and a small embroidery fee I think they are quite the steal!