Friday Featured Art: Arms and Armor

My parents are visiting!  I'm going to take my mom to the Art Institute.  We're going to hit some of the highlights (according to me), including the Arms and Armor.  A small portion is on display as they work toward having a more permanent space for the collection.  Fascinating.

Thursday Text: Little Women

For our book club this month, we're reading Little Women.  (I'm hosting.)  When we were in the Northeast we got to see Louisa May Alcott's Orchard House.  Isn't it lovely?

Fire Pit

We just got this fire pit for our back patio (on sale).  Our new house has gigantic trees that keep dropping branches.  We decided that we should burn them - safely.  It should be fun!

Brigham City Temple Open House

The open house for the Brigham City Temple is going on now.  (My sister has already been!)  I've seen the outside many times as it's been under construction.  I can't wait to visit it now that it's complete.  It looks so beautiful.  The peach blossom is a common motif, as in this beautiful window.  And don't you love the bride's room?

Poppy Mother of Pearl

When we were at the Missouri State Fair, I picked up a packet of poppy seeds.  I got a "Mother of Pearl" mix from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds.  Don't they look beautiful?  I think I'll wait until next summer to plant them...

Friday Featured Art: Shades of White

I really love this new painting by Joe.  It's called Shades of White, and it reminds me of a house that was across the street from ours when we lived in Rocheport.  Lovely.

Thursday Tunes: Chris Thile and Brad Mehldau

We just got tickets to Chris Thile and Brad Mehldau at the Chicago Symphony Orchestra!  It's not until April, but I am excited about it.  If you're going to be in Chicago, you could go, too!

State Fair Time

Sorry I've missed a few days!  It's that crazy time of year when we're visiting state fairs and preparing for another semester of school to begin.  Did you visit any state fairs this year?  We went to Wisconsin's, Iowa's, and Missouri's (but were too pooped to get to Illinois').  These awesome cream puffs are a main attraction at the Wisconsin State Fair - you know, the Dairy State.

Friday Featured Art: Alexis Jean Fournier Murals

On our trip back east, we visited the Roycroft Campus in East Aurora, NY.  The Roycroft Inn has some incredible murals by Alexis Jean Fournier.  I would love to find out more about them.

Thursday Text: The Book of Mormon

Did you know that the Book of Mormon has been published in over 100 languages (including Arabic)?  We visited the site of the original printing office when we were back east.  A cute missionary girl from southern Utah gave us a lovely tour.  You can request a free copy of the Book of Mormon here.

County Living Fair T-Shirt

Did you see these adorable t-shirts from the Country Living Fair?  I think it would be really fun to go - or I could just get the shirt...

Melba Sauce

An interesting food item that we had on our trip back east was sweet potato fries with Melba Sauce.  I would never have though of such a combination.  It was pretty good, though.  Here's a quick recipe (from epicurious):

2 cups raspberries
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
1 tbs. fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup apple juice

Puree all the ingredients, then pass through a strainer to remove the seeds.

Sprecher Brewery's Gourmet Sodas

Sprecher Brewing Company in Wisconsin makes the most delightful gourmet sodas.  We recently tried the cherry cola, with honey and Door County cherry juice.  It's yummy!

Friday Featured Art: Posters of Paris

Last week when we were at the Wisconsin State Fair, we saw advertisements for an exhibit at the Milwaukee Art Museum, called "Posters of Paris."  So we hurried over to see it before they closed for the day.  It is billed as Toulouse-Latrec and his contemporaries, but I was excited to see some lithographs by Alphonse Mucha.  The show runs through September 9.

Thursday Tunes: Olana

I posted a painting by Frederic Church a couple of weeks ago.  Well, we were in New York about a week ago and visited Olana, the Persian-style home that he built on the Hudson River.  It was fabulous.  We were inspired to see it after becoming familiar with the song by Marc Cohn.  Listen to it here.

Beadles

When we were back east visiting some friends, we visited Rockport, MA.  It's a fun little town on the water.  I found a great bead shop: Beadles and got this cute charm for my charm bracelet.  It's modeled on the famous fishing shack (below).

Rejuvenation

If you have some extra cash to spend on home improvement, you need to know about Rejuvenation.  They offer beautiful classic lighting and hardware.  They're on the expensive side, but their pieces are lovely.

OLYMPICS!

Do you love the Olympics?  How can you not?!  I can't believe it's been 10 years since I attended the Salt Lake Olympics.  Check out this incredible picture taken by Luke MacGregor.  Go USA!