Tag Archives: Charles P. Rogers

Breakfast in Bed: Pumpkin Spice Bread

Post by Alison Hein.

I just read an article by the Natural Resources Defense Council about food waste in the US (http://www.nrdc.org/food/files/wasted-food-IP.pdf). Did you know that 40 percent of food in our country is wasted annually? Estimates indicate this is equivalent to approximately $165 billion per year! Kind of hard to believe, considering that one in six Americans currently lacks a steady food supply.

Most of the time, I’m pretty good about consuming all the groceries we buy. I’ve got lots of neat tricks for using celery leaves and aging vegetables to make nourishing soups and stocks. You will also find me freezing leftovers, or carting care packages to friends and family. When I fall short, though, is during holiday season – I always overestimate the amount of baking that actually occurs.

Take Thanksgiving, for example. I baked two apple pies and two pumpkin pies, yet I still have four cans of pumpkin in my pantry! Anyway, a long serious spiel to get to the point of providing you with an excellent remedy for holiday overstocking – Pumpkin Spice Bread.

This is a simple recipe that warms your home with pumpkin pie scents, and neatly rounds out a breakfast or brunch menu. Rich and filling pumpkin creates a moist, dense bread that works well when lightly warmed and topped off with a schmear of whipped cream cheese. Stash a slice or two in your children’s lunch boxes, or treat yourself to a spicy, pumpkin breakfast in bed.

Then come join me in donating some of my overstocked pantry to our local food bank. 🙂

Ingredients
4 tablespoons butter, softened
¾ cup sugar
2 eggs
1 15-ounce can pumpkin
1 cup flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon ginger
½ teaspoon cloves
½ teaspoon salt

Preparation
Preheat oven to 350°. In a large bowl, beat butter and sugar until creamy. Beat in eggs until smooth. Add pumpkin and mix well.

In a separate bowl, mix together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, cloves and salt. Add dry ingredients all at once to pumpkin mixture, stirring to combine. Spread batter evenly in a well-greased loaf pan. Bake at 350° for 50 to 60 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan on rack at least 1 hour before slicing.

Makes one loaf of pumpkin bread.

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Bedroom Design: Guest Sheets

Post by Laura Cheng.

The holidays are here and so are the out of town friends and family. (To the tune of It’s Beginning to Look Alot Like Christmas”) My home is beginning to look alot like a bed and breakfast. That means the guest bedroom is getting its fair share of use. And so are the sheets. As a hostess, it may be impossible to maintain as sanitary a home as I like during the holidays, but golly, those sheets sure will be comfortable! Having a lovely, inviting bed is important to me, so let’s talk sheets! Here are my current top 3 contenders currently making their rounds in my guest bedroom.

I have a set of Raymond Waites bedding and it sets the par for comfort. There is some truth to a higher thread count, but I haven’t bought into the hype. A magnificent number (usually followed by a magnificent price tag) does not always indicate comfort for me. At 300 thread count, it is the perfect set not only to lay out for guests, but also for everyday use. I find the designs to be neutral enough for any guest bedroom without being boring. I love the fact that it can be reasonably and easily purchased. A quick trip to Bed Bath and Beyond or Bloomingdale’s and score!

Source: http://www1.bloomingdales.com/shop/product/raymond-waites-wonderland-5-piece-comforter-set?ID=666186&PseudoCat=se-xx-xx-xx.esn_results

Also on my top 3 list is Land’s End No Iron Supima Sateen Sheets. The use of the phrase “no iron” is enough for me to embrace these sheet sets faster than a frozen turkey can explode in a deep fryer. With cooking, cleaning, and entertaining on my mind, the last thing I need to add on to the list is ironing. Any company can market that term, but these sheets really stand up to the test. Land’s End also gets an additional plus in my book because they sell sheets in hard to find Twin-XL size.

Source: http://www.landsend.com/pp/400-count-no-iron-solid-supima-sateen-bedding~234559_1782.html?sku_0=::WHI

For any discerning guest who favors elegance and luxury, I lay out Charles P. Rogers’s 400 Thread Count Prima Cotton Sheets. It’s not easy for dark colors to make it out of a washing machine alive, alive and vibrant, but I have these in the sesame color and they really shine, wash after wash. These sheets are extra roomy. With other sheet sets, I find it harder to get my bed dressed than my toddler. And the bed doesn’t squirm or talk back! Not so with this sheet set. Even on my pillow-topped mattresses, there is ample room still left. Where other pillowcases squish the stuffing in my king sized pillows into shape, theses allow them float and drift happily.  And this makes me a happy hostess.

 

Source: http://www.charlesprogers.com/400-thread-count-prima-cotton-sheets-p-107.html?cPath=3_17

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Bedtime Stories: Z is for Moose

Post by Mark T. Locker.

Z is for Moose by Kelly Bingham. Illustrated by Paul O. Zelinsky.

Let’s be honest: concept books are almost always SUPER boring to read. These are the ABC books, the 1,2,3 books, the “this is a dodecahedron” books. Yes, lots of them have choppy rhyme schemes in an attempt to make it less boring, and sometimes you get to count monkeys! Or sheep! Or yaks! But regardless, they continue to be boring. If you were asked to choose between counting yaks or counting fish, which would you choose? Easy. The answer is: NEITHER.

This new abecedarian manages to weave in the story of an overeager moose who just can’t wait till his turn. All the other letter representations, the apple, the bear, etc. are patiently waiting in line. Moose, in his excitement, tramps across several scenes in an attempt to get to “M”. But when Zebra decides last minute to use the mouse for M, Moose loses it and begins to deface the other letters. “R is for Ring” is crossed out in angry black pen, replaced with “R is for MOOSE

If your kid (or yourself) has a decent grasp of the alphabet, this is a good choice. It’s more amusing than it is educational. And they are sure to get a laugh out of hearing: O is for Moose!

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Movies in Bed: A Garfield Christmas

Post by Josh Zinn.

There’s something about the holidays that disrupts my ability to smother the world with my hatred of things and I’m not entirely comfortable with that. Case in point: Garfield. Really, has there ever been a moment in this life when anyone has chuckled, chortled, or guffawed OUT LOUD at the antics, quips, and musings of America’s favorite lasagna-scarfing feline? A rather slovenly thing, Garfield exists on the periphery of popular culture not as an icon of hilarity, but rather as the comedic equivalent of Bugles corn snacks. He’s there; we ingest him; but he’s entirely forgettable (and doesn’t even, I might add, come in six unique flavors).

Come the yuletide, however, this tubby little marinara-soaked comic cat emerges from my cauldron of contempt and somehow finds a half-hour of redemption through the power of his poorly-animated holiday special, “A Garfield Christmas.” But why?

Surely, there is nothing in “A Garfield Christmas” that hasn’t been seen before: An elderly woman reminiscing of days gone by? Check. Brothers finding solace and camaraderie as they take holiday refuge from the industrialized age? Check. A dog and a cat discovering that perhaps-just perhaps-the hatred they hold for one another is unsustainable and spiritually unsound? Check, please!

Nay, “A Garfield Christmas” brings little to the table that hasn’t already been served. But it is that tepidness, that complete and utter lack of motivation (laziness, really) to reach beyond the usual Christmas cliché and aim for something profound and heartfelt, that for some strange reason makes the annual viewing of it a near-religious experience for me.

Oh no, I’m not going to lie and start calling this chicken a peacock, folks. This special isn’t very good. There are annoying songs; John’s mom has a scrunched-up face that make her look like a creepy panty-hose doll; Odie is just plain dumb; and Garfield continually breaks the fourth wall with comedic commentary that makes my stomach hurt. And yet, I find the whole December-themed debacle completely watchable.

You see, “A Garfield Christmas” is the kind of Christmas special that’s not cool to like and that, oddly enough, makes me want to act as its staunchest defender. Sure, it may lack the ironically hip stop-motion animation of “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,” is devoid of the severity of sincerity that permeates “A Charlie Brown Christmas,” and cannot compete with the pomp and circumstance of the bizarre California Raisins-sponsored “Claymation Christmas Celebration,” but it is that inability to stand tall in a sea of giants that makes my heart yearn for only the best life can offer this seasonal special on a stick.
Like a wayward, rabid, odious opossum (I was going to say child, but that seemed too cruel) in search of a home, “A Garfield Christmas,” needs love precisely because there’s really not much to love about it—and that’s what makes it lovable!

Isn’t that what the holidays are truly about?

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Things We Like: Spanish Colonial Revival


Post by Kyle St. Romain.

Having just returned home from a long weekend at Death Valley National Park, I have to say that it’s nothing short of awesome. Whether you’re a geologist who wants to be stumped or a tourist looking to escape from the ordinary, Death Valley offers something for everyone. I wasn’t as excited as I should have been to visit at first, but now that we’re home I find myself wanting for dry desert air and tranquility that Los Angeles simply cannot provide. I highly recommend you consider seeing it for yourself.

One of the more popular attractions in Death Valley is Scotty’s Castle, which is sometimes referred to as the Hearst Castle of the desert. Formally called Death Valley Ranch, Scotty’s Castle got its name from one of Death Valley’s most famous inhabitants, Walter Scott —a con man of sorts. You can read more about the story here.


Scotty’s Castle was built in a Mission Revival/Spanish Colonial Revival architectural style, which I’ve long been a fan of. Although, I usually lump the general style into what I call “Mediterranean looking homes.” My girlfriend, on the other hand, is not as much of a fan of this style. However, after visiting Scotty’s Castle, we finally agreed that it would make a superb looking home.

While my future home likely won’t be as grand as Scotty’s Castle, there are a number of important elements inherent to any Mission Revival/Spanish Colonial style home: white plaster or stucco walls, exposed wooden beams, red clay roofs, iron trim, decorative terracotta floor tiles, and a relatively open floor plan.

The furnishings in a Mission Revival home are equally as important as the architecture. The furniture should be predominantly made of solid wood, complimented with rich, earth-colored fabrics. And since tile floors and stucco walls can be a bit cold on there own, you’ll want to use decorative rugs and heavy fabric window treatments to add some much needed warmth.

In the bedroom, a wooden or wrought iron bedframe works best, and plush bedding helps soften the sharp lines of the bed. Iron wall sconces and floor lamps are also a great way to enhance the look of your Mission Revival home while adding some much needed light. To me, you can’t go wrong erring towards more gothic/medieval style lighting options that look like they came out of an old European castle. To really tie the whole look together, think about sticking with a consistent theme throughout the home. For example, all of the iron trimming in Scotty’s Castle featured a dragon; a relatively small detail that really stood out once noticed.

Since the possibilities of designing your own Mission Revival home are endless, the best way to perfect the look in your own home is to see what other designers have done. Houzz has an excellent gallery of Mission Revival homes to admire.

What’s your favorite architectural style? Did I miss any important elements of Mission Revival? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

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