Controlling the TV with My Mind

Phew.  Where did the weekend go?  I spent Saturday shopping in Naperville, Il with the ladies of Nate's family.  I didn't find a ton of house bargains (more clothes).  I did pick up our new dining room chairs though.  Super exciting.  That post will be coming soon.

Yesterday my family was in town for lunch.  It was a quick trip but it was good to see them.  I then played Nate's photography assistant as he took some family photos.  As fun as it all was, my hermit self longed for my couch.

So, I'm not much a tv person.  I have a few shows I DVR but I could go days without turning the tv on.  Nate, on the other hand, turns the tv on the second he walks in the door and doesn't shut it off until the second before he falls asleep.   

For his birthday he got the Logitech Harmony Remote from his parents. 

via Logitech  

Nate wanted this remote because it has closed cabinet control.  Meaning you can control devices behind cabinet doors.  (Fancy!)  This will come in handy when we build our living room cabinets.  He also wanted it because you can control the tv, Roku box, etc with your smart phone.  What?  He hooked it up and showed me.  I was like, "Eh.  That's cool but the remote is sitting right there.  I don't get it."  He then tried to impress me by not shutting the tv off until we got all of the way upstairs or down the hall. I told him to stop being weird.

The other night I felt like watching tv.  I asked Nate to hand me the remote.  He said "no", as most loving husbands do.  I whined. He told me to use my phone.  I whined because I didn't know how to do that.  (Do you see why I don't watch tv?)  He hooked it up for me and HOLY COW, I CAN CHANGE THE TV WITH MY PHONE!!!!   My life is changed.

Ike is impressed too.  Nate has our favorite channels stored so I just the HGTV button and bam! HGTV appears.  Super cool. You can adjust the volume, change the channel, anything.  Crazy. Ike loves it. 

That's today's pointless point.  I seriously can't get over how cool it is to turn the tv on with my phone. I'm sure the novelty will wear off but I'll keep telling everyone I know until then.  The only problem is that I can't call Nate weird anymore.  At least in regards to the phone remote business.   I also can't wait to get into a channel war using our phones.  Mwah ha ha.

Boy Pennant Quilt

I am a quilting fool. Or is it just a fool?  I don't remember.   I can never get that one straight.

I made this quilt for a co-worker's grandson.  This co-worker is also my source of all things awesome.  She also has a love for junk furniture and antiques.

"Hey, I love this buffet."  "I have one of those you can have for free in my garage."  (See it here.)

"Nate and I are looking for some barn wood to build a table." "I've got a whole garage full of it.  How much do you need? "

And she won't let me pay her.  So I asked if I could make her grandson a quilt for his 1st birthday.  Nate is also going to photograph her grandchildren.   Still not a fair deal on her end but I at least feel a little better about the situation.

Enough chatty mcchattersoning, here's the quilt!

I wanted to make this one a little larger than some I have made in the past.  It turned out much larger.  That's not all bad. 

I took these photos on a dark and rainy morning.  Ike was still sleepy.   Probably because he was up at 4:45am.  He was claiming that he was "too cold" and needed to sleep in the bed.  He's not a furry dog, sleeping in a 70 degree house with 2 blankets and a pillow.  Nope.  He's lucky he's cute.

I picked a dot chevron on the back.  It looked nice and boy like.  Or something. 

I am now working on a different type of quilt for my college roomie's triplets. I promised the quilts before they get to college.  I'd better get to moving...

World's Best Cupcake

It's that time of year again.  The time where I incessantly quote the movie, Elf.  Coincidentally it's also the time of year that Nate starts looking for his next wife.  Weird. 

Today I'm going to share with you the World's Best Cupcake recipe.  Picture me running into your home yelling "Congratulations.  You did it.  World's best cupcake!!!"

That's funny for two reason. I don't really yell or run.

Anywho, I've been baking a lot.  Part of my baking is mastering the cupcake.  I think I finally did it.  The cupcakes are ridiculously moist (sorry for using that word) and delicious.  The buttercream is what dreams are made of.  Delicious and the consistency is great for making pretty cupcakes.

World's Best Cupcake

Chocolate Cupcake:

1 cup buttermilk  (most important ingredient in tasty cupcakes)

1/2 cup vegetable or canola oil  (I've used both and didn't really notice a difference.)

4 eggs

1 (18.25 oz.) box Betty Crocker's Super Moist Devil’s Food cake mix

Buttercream Frosting: 

• 2 cups salted butter, softened
• 5 1/3 cups powdered sugar, sifted
• 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 3/8 teaspoon pure almond extract
• 7-8 tablespoons heavy cream

Instructions: 

 Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line or grease cupcake pan.

Beat cake mix, buttermilk and oil until moistened (~30 seconds). Add eggs one at a time, until the batter is well-mixed. Beat on high until thick (~2 minutes).

Scoop the batter into the cupcake pan until they are 2/3 full. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Remove from oven.  Cool cupcakes on a wire rack.

Once cooled, top with the world's best buttercream frosting recipe.

For the frosting, beat the butter until it’s fluffy.  Slowly add the sifted powdered sugar a cup at a time. Once all powdered sugar has been added, beat on medium-high until smooth.

Add the vanilla and almond extracts, and beat in to combine. Add the cream a bit at a time until frosting reaches desired consistency.

Increase mixer speed to medium-high, and continue to beat frosting until light and fluffy.

Frost cupcakes.  I use a 1M tip.  

EAT ALL THE CUPCAKES! 

Do you like cupcakes, Michelle?  Do cupcakes have sugar in them?  Then why yes I do. 

Do you have a favorite cupcake recipe?  Do share!  Who's pumped to watch Elf 1 million times in the upcoming months?  Too soon? 

Fall Home Tour: Modern and Fresh

Today is a big day around these parts!  

It's Nate's birthday.  I won't share how old he is. (Hint: It's old.)  I still need to wrap his gift.  (#wifefail).   Ike and I always have a tough time on Nate's birthday because we both have to be on our best behavior.  Which is hard for both of us.

Today is also a big day because it's our turn to share our Modern and Fresh Fall home tour!

The Modern and Fresh home tour is hosted by Lindsay (The White Buffalo Styling Co.) and Kristen (KFD Designs).  These lovely ladies asked a bunch of stylish bloggers (I fooled someone along the way) to share how we cozy up our homes for fall.   Bring on the scarecrows and "boo" signs.  Or not.

Important notes: There will be no black crows in these photos because birds freak me out.  Also, Ike managed to make his way into approximately 83.4% of the pictures.  I don't know how I'd go through life without having an assistant.

Let's start outside.  

I always place mums on our front steps. They look beautiful until it gets cold.  I then lose all interest in keeping them alive.  That motivation is redirected to keeping myself warm. 

Speaking of keeping warm, let's head inside.   Here's the view from the front door. I tried to get a few different angles than normal. 

Our console table got a new Fall do. 

I had Nate's Sweet Old Lady Cow photo made into standout from mpix.   I then worked around her.  I picked up the wire frame thing and the scale at a couple of local antique shops.  I had been wanting a scale forever and finally broke down.  Good life decision.  I added the hive vase from West Elm and a shiny pumpkin from Michael's to help balance out all of the old.

I also went to the dark side and added some bunting.  I know.  I'm worried about me too.  

Moving on to the living room.  

Our couch is cozy with some tribal-ish pillows I picked up from Target for $6 each.  The birthday boy hates them because they itch his precious man skin.  I keep telling him that beauty is pain.  Ike, on the other hand, loves them! 

He leads a rough life. 

I added some pumpkins, some owls, some candles and some old books.  It's now Fall.  The end.

I'd like to think that the bookshelves days are numbered.  Which is why they look the same as when we moved in 5 years ago.  Cheesy wedding photos and all.   And that scrolly thing.  Don't judge me on the scrolly thing.  It's days are more numbered than the bookcases.

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I whipped up these pumpkin bookends.  They add just the right amount of cozy Fall to the mantel. 

One of my favorite parts of our house is that I can take photos from the second floor walkway.  Here's the living room aerial view. 

Let's head back downstairs. 

Just be careful to not trip over the dog.  Like Nate and I do 50 times each day.  He doesn't move.  Trust me. 

Our living room and kitchen are open to each other.  Let my assistant show you the way.

The fall decor in the kitchen is pretty simple.  Some pumpkins and a plant on the table.  A bowl of candy corn on the counter (a Fall necessity!).  I have been baking up a storm in the kitchen lately. 

There is usually a freshly baked pumpkin good on the counter but this week it's a poorly decorated hipster cake for Nate's birthday.   Every grown Iowan man's dream.

Another kitchen view. 

You can see above that the kitchen is connected to the dining room.   The dining room is our latest victim.  Sort of.  Our new table is in the same state as you last saw it.  We still haven't found chairs.  Womp, womp.  Once we work all of that out, I think there might be some open shelving going on in here.  

I went to the dark side on the top of the hutch.   

I have an indoor mum on the table.  I meant to put it in a vase but couldn't find one I liked.  I'm sure it's days are numbered too.

You've made it to the end. I feel like should be handing out pumpkin muffins.  Ike thinks it's time for you to leave because he needs a nap.  He gets cranky when he's tired.  Poor thing. 

Be sure to check out all of the fabulous tours going on during the month of October.  So much virtual stalking!

1 – Kristen and Lindsay 2 – Sarah from Sarah M. Dorsey Designs 3 – Gabbi from Retro Ranch Reno 4 – Brittany from Brittany Makes 5 – Jesse from Scout & Nimble 6 – Julia from Cuckoo 4 Design 7 – Carolyn from Sweet Chaos Home 8 – Jennifer from The Chronicles of Home 9 – Bethany from Dwellings by Devore 10 – Carmel from Our Fifth House 11 – Kristin from The Hunted Interior 12 – Annekke from This That & Life 13 – Michelle from Décor and the Dog 14 – Cassie from Primitive & Proper 15 – Ally from From the Right Bank 16 – Shannon from Shannon Berrey Designs 17 – Danika from Gorgeous Shiny Things 18 – Kristin from Bliss at Home 19 – Jenna from Rain on a Tin Roof 20 – Jessica from Dear Emmeline 21 – Kelly from View Along the Way 22 – Sarah from Lacquer and Linen 23 – Eileen from A Creative Day Blog 24 – Sarah from Royal Marigold 25 – Lori from Lori May Interiors 26 – Jennifer from Dimples and Tangles 27 – Caitlin from Desert Domicile 28 – Sherry from Design Indulgence 29 – Lakeitha from Lakeitha Duncan Lifestyle Blog 30 – Shavonda from A Home Full of Color and Whitney from The Curtis Casa. 31 – Angela from Number Fifty-three and Jennifer from Brave New Home.

If you're new to these parts, check out our full house tour and about us pages!

Have you decorated for Fall or are you waiting until December to get your holiday decorating on?  What makes your home feel like Fall?

Pumpkin Parade Link Party

It's party day!  You'll find me in the corner sipping on my pumpkin martini.  Avoiding eye contact.  Scrolling Instagram and counting the minutes until I get to go home.  

Wait.  This is an internet party. I can attend from my couch. Sweet. 

Enough about me.  Did you check out the fantastic pumpkin projects from my lovely co-hosts? 

 Shift Ctrl Art, Primitive & Proper, Decor and the Dog 

A Little Bite of Everything, A Swell Place to Dwell, NewlyWoodwards

Boxy Colonial, Wills Casa, Cuckoo4Design

Bliss At Home, Go Haus Go, Interiors by Kenz

Those are some classy looking pumpkins up there.

Now it's your turn! 

You can link up on any of our blogs listed below. Please use a permalink and link to as many projects as you wish, as long as the posts involve pumpkins. The linky below will stay live through Tuesday, October 15th. Next week, each of us will spotlight a few of our favorite projects on our blogs. We’ll also pin those projects on our shared Pinterest board.

The only rules: 
1. Please share a pumpkin post - could be decor, crafts, cooking or anything else pumpkin.
2. Please link back to the Pumpkin Parade and at least one of our blogs.  All would be awesome.  Just copy this!  

 Shift Ctrl Art, Primitive & Proper, Decor and the Dog, A Little Bite of Everything, A Swell Place to Dwell, NewlyWoodwards, Boxy Colonial, Wills Casa, Cuckoo4Design, Bliss At Home, Go Haus Go, Interiors by Kenz

3.  Put that pumpkin martini down and please go to at least one other blog and comment. This is what makes the parade extra fun.  Mandatory fun is the best kind of fun.

Can’t wait to see your projects!  Check back here on Sunday for our fall home tour!

Fall Cleaning Checklist

This post brought to you by BISSELL Homecare, Inc.. All opinions are 100% mine.

Fall decided to arrive this past weekend in Iowa.  It went from 88 degrees on Friday to the high 40's on Sunday.  Rude.

As much as I dislike the cold, I am looking forward to the wonderful things that Fall brings!  Hot beverages, boots, blankets and deep cleaning.  Oh yes, deep cleaning can be wonderful.  Wait, that's a lie but I do feel better going into Winter with clean windows and carpets!

I previously mentioned that I am big on surface cleaning but not so big on deep cleaning.  I try to make sure that I do tackle deep cleaning at least twice a year (Spring and Fall).  This weekend I whipped up a Fall cleaning checklist.  These are tasks that I need to complete in the next few weeks.  You know, before the chance of snow happens.  Here's what I need to tackle:

Our carpets need a deep cleaning.  Our living room carpet especially needs it.  This guy and his bear, Ted, aren't the cleanest things in town.

Poor Ted.

We use the BISSELL Proheat Deep Cleaner that we've had for a few years.  It's easy to use and brings our dingy carpets back to life. 

Ike tells me that he's not the only messy one around these parts.  Nate and I have been spending a lot more time in the kitchen and it shows.

Our deep cleaning list includes vacuuming out drawers and kitchen crevices.  You know, anywhere that flour can land.  

I previously mentioned that I had a new friend, the BISSELL PowerGlide.  It has come in handy as I have started on my Fall checklist.

Before I can start deep cleaning, I like to surface clean all of the baseboards and floors in the house.  This includes the stairs which were previously a giant pain.  I'm a weakling and hate carrying a heavy vacuum up and down the stairs.  The BISSELL PowerGlide has a removable pod that lifts off the base and allows me to carry only part of it up and down the stairs!

I love clean windows. I just don't love cleaning them.  It doesn't help that we have 1 million of them to clean.  I always start window cleaning by vacuuming out the bugs and dirt from the window sills.

The ability to use the lift off feature makes this task super simple.

The lift off feature and long-stretch hose is awesome for cleaning the tops of the cabinets.  I always used to assume that the tops of cabinets cleaned themselves.  Turns out that it was just my mom.  Who new?

So far I am a big fan of the quality and effectiveness of the BISSELL PowerGlide®.  We own other BISSELL Products and we appreciate their quality and performance! Here’s another look at the awesome features I mentioned when I first received it:

- No loss of suction and sealed system

- One-step removable pod for portable cleaning

- Long-stretch hose

- Lightweight

- Swivel steering for maneuverability

- Adjustable handle for easy use and storage

- 12-inch foot for stability

- Large capacity dirt cup

- 27-foot cord

- Included TurboBrush® and crevice tool

You can visit BISSELL on Facebook to enter to win their sweepstakes. Here are more cleaning tips to help you tackle that Fall cleaning. If you would like to purchase your own BISSELL Powerglide you can use the code POWERGLIDE on BISSELL.com for $20 Off Plus Free Shipping for the following products through 11/30/2013:

· PowerGlide Pet Vacuum with Lift-Off Technology – 2763

· PowerGlide Pet Bagged Rewind Vacuum – 38631

· PowerGlide Pet Vacuum – 1044

Have you started your Fall cleaning?  What's your favorite and least favorite Fall cleaning task?

Don't forget to check out today's fab pumpkin projects! 

Wednesday:Boxy Colonial, Wills Casa, Cuckoo4Design 

Cherry Almond Bars

I've decided to make Tuesdays "Tasty Tuesdays" here at Decor and the Dog.  Well, until I don't have my act together.  Then it will just be Tuesday. 

I'm kind of killing it in the kitchen lately.  I've been doing a lot of baking/recipe experimenting lately so I figured I'd share. 

My food photography skills will also amaze you.  Try not to be jealous. 

First up on Tasty Tuesdays is a favorite recipe for Cherry Almond Bars.  These things are ridiculously good and not super complicated.   Slightly messy but I associate messy with tasty.

Cherry Almond Bars

• 1 cup butter
• 2 cups suagar
• 1 tsp. salt
• 4 eggs
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp. almond extract
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 cans (21 oz each) cherry pie filling

Glaze

• 1 cup confectioner's sugar
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp. almond extract
• 2-3 Tbsp milk

1. Preheat oven to 350. In a large bowl, cream butter, sugar and salt until light and fluffy. (I repeat it's so fluffy over and over.) Add eggs, beating well after each addition. Beat in extracts. Gradually add flour. 

2. Spread 3 cups batter into a greased 15x10x1 inch baking pan.  (I lined mine with aluminum foil because I hate cleaning baked good pans.)  Spread with pie filling. Drop remaining batter by teaspoonfuls over the filling.  Bake 30-35 minutes or until golden brown. Cool completely in pan on a wire rack. 

3. In a bowl, mix confectioner's sugar, extracts and milk to reach desired consistency. Drizzle over top. My patience got the best of me and I added the glaze a little too soon so don't be me and actually wait until the bars cool.

4.  Enjoy! 

***The Pumpkin Parade continues!  

Check out today's great projects!  A Little Bite of Everything, A Swell Place to Dwell, NewlyWoodwards 

Also, my mom had a great question.  "Do you have to have a blog to link up?"  (Seriously. She asked.) You don't!  Just upload your pictures to a site like Flickr and link that way! 

DIY Pumpkin Bookends

Yay! It's Monday!

I've lost it. 

Okay, so I'm not exactly pumped for Monday but I am pumped to share with you my Pumpkin Parade project.  I whipped up these pumpkin bookends in approximately 62 minutes.  42 of those minutes were paint/glue drying time. 

I mentioned last week that I am teaming up with some lovely ladies to host a pumpkin parade plus link party (on Friday!).  

I shared my fall mantel a couple of weeks ago.   I decided it could use a little more fall in it's life.  I'm not big on things screaming HOLIDAYS!!! so I came up with this simple bookend idea.

These bookends are super simple to make.  Nate cut me some 1x4s to a size that seemed bookend appropriate.  I used wood glue to hold them together.

I gave them a quick coat of brown paint that I found in my basement paint stash.  It's embarrassing the amount of paint that is down there. 

I purchased two pumpkins from the dollar section at Target.  They were an atrosish gold.   I spray painted them.  Poorly.  Because I have zero patience. (They were pretty shiney and I should have ruffed them up a little.)  The dripped look is "in" now though. #trendfollower

When everything was dry, I placed the pumpkins on top of the bookends.  Done.  Just in time to watch the Amazing Race. 

I think these guys are quite charming. 

Remember to share your pumpkin projects with us right here on Friday, October 11th.  (That's this week.  Get to pumpkining! (that's a verb).)  It's a joint link party so your project will be seen on all of our blogs!  Anything pumpkin will fly. Crafts, recipes, etc.  I look forward to checking out your pumpkin-ness! 

Need some pumpkin inspiration?

That good looking group above is sharing their projects all week.  Be sure to check out their pumpkin wonderfulness! 

Monday:  Shift Ctrl Art, Primitive & Proper, Decor and the Dog (that's me!)

Tuesday:  A Little Bite of Everything, A Swell Place to Dwell, NewlyWoodwards

Wednesday: Boxy Colonial, Wills Casa, Cuckoo4Design

Thursday: Bliss At Home, Go Haus Go, Interiors by Kenz

Good Housekeeping Feature

Happy Friday!  I've been a little under the weather this week.  Nate knew I was ill when I told him I wasn't really into the internet.  I'm lucky that I have a cute nurse that has me almost back to well.

I thought I'd drop in quick and share that my craft room was featured over at Good Housekeeping last week! 

As you can maybe see from my screenshot above, my chevron wall is part of a slide show titled "DIY Wall Art: 8 Creative Ways to Decorate Your Space."  Very exciting! 

Head here to check out the slideshow.  The other projects are fantastic.  Thanks to Good Housekeeping for sharing one of my favorite rooms in our house!

Happy weekend!  Do you have big plans?  We are headed to Iowa City tomorrow.  It is my 5 year pharmacy class reunion/University of Iowa Homecoming.  We are hoping rain doesn't ruin our plans!  

Thrifting Finds

Nate and I are on a mission to find eight old chairs that we can redo for our new dining room table that Nate is building.  Our mission appears to be an impossible one.  Well, impossible for people with little patience. 

On Saturday we set out on a thrifting adventure.  No chairs came home with us but I found some awesome things at great prices.  I had previously been striking out so it felt good to finally be able to bring some cheap junk home with me.  

I found a beautiful crochet blanket that is perfect for the upcoming cool weather. It was only $8 and in perfect shape.  I kind of felt like I should pay someone more for it. I mean, someone spent a decent amount of time making this thing.  I'm a weirdo. 

Unfortunately my new blanket has been claimed by another member of our household.  I don't really want to mess with him or his fox. 

There has always been a blanket on the couch and he hasn't ever really cared.  He's constantly stealing this one.

If you've been reading for awhile, you may know of my Pyrex addiction.  I was going to seek help but my Pyrex addiction only slightly interferes with my daily activities.  Every time we'd see a piece of Pyrex, Nate was all like "Nope. No. Seriously. No.  Step away.  Moving on."  And then I found this piece for $3.  He had no longer had a say in the matter.   

I've been on a baking spree lately.  Muffins, cupcakes, cookies.  All of it.  Must bake.  I'm super pumped to try some recipes out of this cookbook.  I have another Better Homes and Gardens Pie book which I love.  I figured adding cakes couldn't hurt.  Nate was very pro this purchase. 

I bought a suitcase.  For my next trip.  Or DIY project.  Whichever comes first. 

Ike appears to be stealing this purchase too. 

I have a soft spot for ceramic Christmas trees but they are usually too pricey.  This guy was $10 and he now has a loving new home.  Nate thought it was cool until I sang "Oh, Christmas Tree" for the rest of the day.

Have you found any amazing finds lately?  Anyone in the Quad Cities have some chairs for me to buy?