Blackberry (or Blueberry!) Pie Recipe

Made this for a low key summer dinner party last night--it was the perfect ending to a meal of crab legs, watermelon, and grilled corn on the cob.

Blackberry Crumb Pie

Ingredients

scant 1 c Sugar

8 oz low fat sour cream

3 tbs All-purpose flour

1/8 tsp Salt

4 c Fresh blackberries or blueberries, or a combination of the two types

1 Unbaked 9-inch pastry shell

1 tb Sugar

1/4 c Fine dry breadcrumbs

1 tbs Sugar

1 tbs Butter or margarine; melted

1 tsp cinnamon

Directions

Combine first 4 ingredients; stir well. Place blackberries in unbaked pastry shell, mounding slightly in the middle; sprinkle 1 tablespoon sugar over berries. Spread sour cream mixture evenly over berries. Combine breadcrumbs, 1 tablespoon sugar, butter, and cinnamon; sprinkle over top. Bake at 375 degrees for 45 to 50 minutes or until crust is golden brown and berry filling is liquid and bubbling. Allow to rest for approximately 1-2 hours before serving.

(Adapted from Southern Living)

My Great Grandfather's Church Pew

When Brett and I headed home for West Virginia to stay with my parents over the Fourth of July, we came home with a trailer full of misfit furniture from our family farm in Parkersburg. One of those pieces is my great-grandfather's church pew from the small town of Reedy, West Virginia. He was born in the 1880s and lived until I was 13 and he was 101. Apparently at some point, he heard his childhood church was getting rid of its pews at auction. I don't know if the church was being torn down, or if they were getting new pews, but he bought one and put it on his front porch at the farm. Here it is earlier this year.
We packed it in the trailer and brought it home and cleaned it (with buckets of lysol!), and a lot of the green paint started chipping off. I think it has a really cool weathered look now. Here it is on our back porch in Richmond--fits perfectly!



My mom made the relevant point that the pain on it is probably lead-based so we should be careful if we try to refinish it. For now we will probably just throw some cushions on it and enjoy the piece of family history. What do you guys think?

Shira Sela Prints

I am really loving this artist--her work reminds me of some of my favorite art deco illustrators such as Virginia Sterrett, Arthur Rackham, and my favorite, Kay Neilson.

This one is called "It's Going to Be Alright," and what I love about it is the incredible linework in the tree trunk, the "eye" in the middle of the trunk that looks like its watching over the little girl, and the fact that she is apparently very sweetly talking to her bear:



http://www.supermarkethq.com/product/it-s-going-to-be-alright

This one is called "Human Nature 2," and I love the trees, again, in this one. I also really like the composition of the blossoms, and I think the girls are vaguely creepy in a The Shining way.



http://www.supermarkethq.com/product/human-nature-2


This one is called "Free Spirit" and I like the movement of the composition, as well as the shadow behind the bird because it doesnt really match up with the bird's silouhette, so you are looking and wondering what is making the shadow.


http://www.supermarkethq.com/product/free-spirit


And finally, I think I like this one the best because the colors are most vibrant. It has the great linework again on the trees, and the grass also has incredible detail. She looks like she is watching the sun rise, and it has a much happier ambiance than the others, I think. Look at that ink work in the hills--each type of grass is made with a different type of mark, but you don't really see it until you look very closely. Very effective.


http://www.supermarkethq.com/product/looking-forward


I'm thinking the last three would make a pretty tryptich, but the one with the bird is the only one without the "lost in the woods" feel to it. Oh, and the best part--the prints are only $20.00 each and are totally original art!

Beadboard Wallpaper for Mudroom?

I found this post on the Southern Hospitality Blog that I think would be a perfect way to get the beadboard effect from my inspirations photos in the mudroom! Just to remind you of the look I am going for:

This product is so much cheaper and easier to put up than actual wooden beadboard, and I think that Rhoda's project looks FANTASTIC! Here is a photo of the product and her "After" picture.

It is sold out online at Lowe's but I'm sure I could find it out there somewhere. I am pretty excited about it and I think it would be a good way to camoflage the awful "concrete wainscoting" problem I blogged about a couple of days ago. Then we could put up some moulding and a shelf along the top of the concrete blocks to hide the transition and display some pretty accessories.

What do you guys think? Do you think the height of the concrete block would be a weird place to end the beadboard? Or is the room tall enough that it doesn't make a difference? Now I just need to get Brett motivated to make the walls paint-ready...

Nesting Tables: Is it truly better to have loved and lost?

Dear Nesting Tables:

I wish I had purchased you when I had the chance. I still think about your mitered corners, strong lines, and triple silhouette. Did you find a home that loves you?

Yours truly,

Charlotte

Cyborg Choreography--Two Videos

The first one is "Hibi No Neiro" (Tone of everyday)by Sour
(Thanks JenSki for posting about this video!)

It reminds me of this one, from 2006, on treadmills called "Here it Goes Again" by Ok Go!



Why do I call it cyborg choreography? They are using their bodies and machines to come up with a totally new type of movement. LOVE it! They both also have this great characteristic that makes them appear like they were just thrown together on a home video camera. The choreography is so amazing and they both have this charming childlike quality, like the people are just playing rather than trying too hard.

Enjoy!

Killing me softly...

...with her blog post. Gretchen at the Happiness Project:

Drift

That one hit me right between the eyeballs!