Early Spring at Terrain-stunning!

 TERRAIN at Styers.  If you live at all in a reasonably drive-able distance to Philadelphia then you simply must make the trip to Terrain.  In love with Anthropologie or Urban Outfitters?  Then you will lust the enchantment that is Terrain, a charter store owned by the two previous companies.  It's located in the pastoral Brandywine Valley of Pennsylvania, nestled nicely between antique stores set up in period homes and shopping centers with Home Goods and DSW Shoe Warehouse and the like.  This is a shopping MECCA!  I've blogged about Terrain once before, see that post here.

The store changes with each Season, perfectly displaying everything appropriate for that time of year.  This was my second early Spring trip and I was captivated as always.  Every single display is complete perfection!  I could LIVE in this store!  On the outside, the complex is made up of ramshackle barns and green houses seperated by gravel paths that have displays of their own.  There is also a large nursery area that carries obviously well tended, high quality plants, shrubs and trees.  

The real magic happens when you step foot into the main building. It's bucolic and elegant all in one with fabulous antiques and vintage furniture hold intricate displays of all sorts of goodies that you feel you must have!  Reclaimed wood and zinc topped tables showcase gorgeous table settings with ideas that you are going to want to remember!  There were pretty hickory cutting boards used as chargers and glazed terracotta saucers that I wanted to snatch up.  This store makes you wish you didn't have a budget!  After you finish shopping, there is a lovely cafe set up in an antique greenhouse bursting with lush plants and flowers. They have a huge collection of various teas, hot and cold and a tea of the day.  Hot bread is served in a sweet terracotta pot with a bit of whipped butter topped with sea salt.  The bread was so good, I ordered an extra loaf to bring home to my kids! Enjoy the photos!

Rainbow Birthday Party

My youngest, Peyton is addicted to Pinterest just as much as the rest of us.  I've probably mentioned that once or 5 times before.  It's so cute because she has some boards that make me giggle: makeup (she just turned 10), nursery, 3 different party boards, cute babies, etc. When it came time to party planning for her 10th Birthday, she had definite ideas about what she wanted.  I think she's happy that she has a Momma crazy enough to TRY to accommodate some of them!  EDIT: The Rainbow invites are here if you'd like to check them out!

A little over 2 months ago she decided on a Rainbow theme.  As much as I love pastels for little girls and the pink and white shabby colors we've had the past couple birthday parties, I was excited for a bunch of bright colors.  The theme was set so the fun began!  I started picking up clear containers for the candy at Goodwill.  I already had a bunch of milk glass(from GW too!) that I figured that I would use sparingly.  The only containers that I didn't get there were the 3 apothecary jars.  I already had one, purchased the tall one(peeps) and borrowed one.  I bargained shopped candy everywhere I went and online and hid it all over the house.  We are a family of sweet thooth's so having candy around meant that we wouldn't have any for the party!  I will say when I got it all out a couple days before the party, I was surprised at how much I had!  This also happens to me with stocking stuffers every year!

 Armed with oodles of coupons, I attacked JoAnn's for fabric and ribbon.  First I sewed the felt garland.  I had seen a similar one on Pinterest.  It was EASY, CHEAP and I will definitely make it again in whatever color I need!  I then started on the buntings.  I am addicted to them after last years pretty pink one.  If I were to do it over again for this party, I would have changed the fabric to small patterned fabric in the rainbow colors instead.  Peyton helped sew these and had a blast and did a great job.  They are hung high toward the ceiling, you'll have to look for them to see.  I used 3M "Command" strips and they took off the paint and drywall paper in two spots on my ceiling.  Good thing the kitchen needed it's ceiling painted!  From the ceiling we hung the buntings, swirly streamer thingies, pretty tulle poufs, honeycomb balls and paper lanterns. The last "project" for this part was the rainbow tablecloth that is all over Pinterest.  I will be the first person to tell you that I am "sewing" challenged.  I sew much better on paper for scrapping then I do on any cloth.  This project totally put me to the test.  It was HARD.  As in I'm NEVER doing that again, hard.  If I had drawn lines the proper width apart where the rows of colored stripes were to go I probably would have enjoyed the process and liked my final project much better.  You live you learn.  I MAY do this again in an ombre effect for the twins b-day but now I no what NOT to do!

P and I both wanted to have a rainbow cake (again I know you've seen these too allover you know where) and it was fun to do!  Lot's of food coloring but kids and food coloring go hand in hand.  Well not always but at parties!  Peyton also wanted the cute little rainbow cupcakes using candy sour belts as the rainbow.  These were easy but I won't buy these Wilton cupcake cups again.  They darkened a LOT in the oven and the cupcakes themselves were really shallow and the frosting pulled away from the wrappers leaving them not very pretty.  Sorry Wilton, but as pretty as they were in the box, I think they are a FAIL for me. ;-(  

Back to the fun stuff...Here are a few tips I picked up from this party.1. The glasses are recycled TARGET bottled cappuchino.  The Starbucks ones no longer work because the label isn't pull off like the Target ones.  Cheaper too although this year, I'm saving them for the next party.  Even though Cole loves to have to empty the new ones. 2. The little flags on the straws are just strips of scrapbook paper, double sided tape and the ends are cut with the corner of a square punch. EASY!  3. Buy swirly lollipops from Oriental Trading, soooo much cheaper, then add a scrap of ribbon for some flair.  Oriental trading will then send you a coupon for 25% your next purchase, then buy the rest of the supplies you need!  4. GW is the best place for clear glass containers!  5. Don't make a rainbow tablecloth without penciling it out. ;-)

I've been long winded enough, here are the rest of the photos!   ...oh and one last little tidbit 'bout Peyton.  She likes to not be home while I'm setting up her party and then arrive about a half hour before the party starts so she can "be surprised" -those are her words.  It's a bit of a lot of pressure!  That's her happy little face when she first walked in.  I love it!

Here's the birthday girl during her "photo shoot" for her birthday invites you can see here!

Sister Bonding Time and Coconut layer cake with Angel Feather Frosting, the RECIPE!

 These are my girls. Acting silly.  I LOVE them to pieces of course and they love each other too.  ...but you sometimes wouldn't think so!  Peyton thinks that Callie walks on water.  Callie thinks (at least a lot of the time) that Peyton exists to annoy her.  Except for last night.  There was some SERIOUS sister bonding going on here at our home!  After Matt finished the board and batten last week (yes, I have yet to show you the completed project, it's coming!) he took most of the furniture to the dump. Believe me, after 15 years it was ready to go.  I weeped with happiness as I waved goodbye.  Not really but you know what I mean. I was ready to kick it to the curb.  It wasn't Craigslist worthy. That's saying something!  (It dry-rotted for whatever reason other than it was cheap!)  Now the girls have a large open space to dance in! LOL  They danced together until 10:00 last night and then they crawled into the shower and into bed.  It was so awesome laying upstairs in bed and listening to them giggle and teach each other different techniques! It made my night, week even!

Okay, here's the recipe!  It's a bit different then what I used last year for Peyton's Sweet Shoppe coconut cupcakes. 


1 C. Softened Salted Butter
1 3/4 C. Sugar
1 C. Cream of Coconut (found where the alcoholic drink mixes are at the food store) SHAKE this! (set aside the remainder of the cream of coconut for use later)
4 Large Eggs
pinch of salt


2 1/2 C. flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt


1 C. low fat vanilla yogurt (you can substitute PLAIN yogurt, full fat, Greek etc.)
1tsp. coconut extract


Preheat oven to 275 degrees. Spray 3 8" cakes pans with baking spray. Separate the eggs into mixing bowl, leaving the yolks in a separate small bowl.  Beat the first 3 ingredients (not the eggs)until fluffy.  Sift the next 4 ingredients until well combined. Mix the coconut extract with the yogurt. Alternating, add the dry ingredients and the yogurt mixture beginning and ending with the dry ingredients. In separate bowl, whisk or beat the egg whites and a pinch of salt till until stiff.  Gently fold the egg whites into the batter. Bake about 70-90 minutes.  Check them at 70 minutes using cake tester. Transfer to a cooling rack.  Drizzle the remaining coconut cream over the 3 cakes.  This is VERY helpful for moistness and flavor! YUM!


Transfer the cooled cakes to the freezer for at least 1 hour up to overnight.  After frozen frost immediately and transfer to the fridge for about an hour.  You can eat immediately or let thaw to room temperature.


Boiled Frosting (Angel Feather Frosting)


You will need a heavy saucepan and a candy thermometer 


1 1/2 C. sugar
1/2 tsp. cream of tartar
1/8 tsp. salt
1/2 C. water
4 egg whites
1/2 - 1 tsp. coconut extract
Coconut -if making for coconut cake


Combine sugar, cream of tartar, salt and water in a heavy saucepan.  Cook over medium heat stirring constantly, until clear. Cook, without stirring, to 240 degrees (soft ball stage)  


While syrup cooks, beat egg whites until soft peaks form, continue to beat adding 240 degree syrup in a heavy stream.  Add flavoring and continue beating just until stiff peaks form and frosting is thick enough to spread.  Immediately spread on cake.  Makes 7 cups!

Coconut Cake with Angel Feather Frosting!

Sweet Ms. Peyton is our youngest child so it's very evident to me that these are the LAST times I will be doing many things like dance recitals, violin lessons and BIRTHDAY PARTIES!   I've always enjoyed planning the kids parties for sure.  There were a couple years where I wasn't able to do much because their  birthdays were right around the times I had my back surgeries.  So when Peyton started pinning (yeah, she's as addicted to Pinterest as the rest of us) different parties, I knew it was time to plan!  On her REAL birthday she wanted a coconut cake with "marshmallow" frosting.  I am short on time this am but will be back later to post the recipe.  It has a surprise ingredient!  She also loves Cotton Candy ice cream so I surprised her with a cotton candy cake made from YOGURT that I ordered from TCBY. It was AWESOME!  I'm working on the rainbow birthday post, it's gonna be a BIG one! So come on back!

Rainbow Birthday Party Invitations and Bubble Gum Favors!

EDIT:  The Birthday Party is HERE!

It's almost birthday season at the Bedsaul House.  Our little one, Peyton is in March (turning 10) and the twins, Callie and Cole will be 16 in May. (YES, oh holy COW the twins turning 16 just feels unreal! Where DOES the time go?!) Peyton is just as addicted to PINTEREST as I am.  She decided a while back that she wanted a Rainbow Theme Party!  I've slowly been accumulating candy and decorations for a couple months. It's easier on the budget that way!  I went to Etsy and searched Rainbow party invites and showed them all to Ms. P.  I had my heart set on a certain one but wanted it to be her decision.  Miraculously (well maybe not, we have similar taste) she choose my favorite!  It's a sweet little invite that's bright but still has a bit of a vintage feel.  You can see the fabulous seller here.  Peyton had some specifics she wanted on her invite (she's a GIRL who knows WHAT she wants!!!) and sweet Paige was happy to accommodate.  GREAT seller! I found the lyrics to the song "Somewhere Over The Rainbow" on Pinterest and just made it rainbow instead of the plain ochre color it had been.  On the flip side of that we put the slumber party instructions.  Added a little TINSEL GLITTER from Micheal's and we were done.  Oh and we lined the envelopes with a shot of Peyton but I wish I would have desaturated and overexposed it more. Next time I will.


When I was in the dollar tree and saw these little gumball machines at the bottom of the shelf, I knew they would be a GREAT favor. AND soooo cheap too!  A bag of gumballs for DT and the machine and you have a 2 dollar favor. AWESOME!  I hope to get some tags done for them too.  I still have to make the rainbow bunting and the rainbow table cloth that Peyton has requested.  I think that girls going to be a party planner to the stars!


I'll be posting more about Peyton's party as I get things done. Come on back!

Luscious Lemon Loaf

Just like everyone else in the free world, I ADORE Starbucks.  Great coffee.  That's for SURE.  But I've got a little secret?  The SWEETS! Sir StarBUCKS-a lot  knows how to whip up a batch of just about anything and it's always delightfully yummy.  So, when I saw this lemon loaf clone, I jumped on it.  It's SO VERY GOOD!  Give it a try!  I of coarse found the recipe on Pinterest but it's actually from the fabulous blog, Glorious Treats.  The recipe is HERE!

I've been knee deep (okay that's sort of a pun that I didn't mean because I was told a few days ago that I will need a partial knee replacement in the near future. fun.) in Rainbow Birthday Party Goodness for Peyton's birthday.  Can't wait to show you all the goodies!


Give me a few days for my Pity Party to end, then I'll tell you are my fun news.  It's almost as good as being Knee'd in the teeth! LOL  Can't stop with the puns tonight!

Warm Fuzzies

As you may know, we have 2 boxers, Macy and Cosmo.  Neither one of them can stand to be cold.  Or hot, actually! They are a bit prissy about it.  On chilly mornings they can either be found snuggled up in front of the fireplace or laying on soft blankets on the couch. This morning, they looked so sweet that I had to share them with you.  We all have gotten into the habit of covering them up when we see them on the couch, and they LOVE it!   I think it's obvious that a. They love being cozy and covered and b. They are sooo spoiled!  

Cosmo is always hungry and would look like a sausage with legs if we let him.  Macy on the other hand, is happy as long as she is getting her way. She's a DIVA!  When the welcome heat of Summer comes, they'll be found laying on the cool tile floor or on top of the air conditioning vents! It's a RUFF life.


As cozy as these two look, I am more than READY for Spring.  We've had a mild Winter so far but I'm very ready for it to be over!  Even the birds around here are a bit confused.  On the warmer mornings we can hear them singing away.  Speaking of SPRING and birds...look what I got in the mail today!

It's Wellington the duck! I think he is absolutely adorable!  He's the first Scentsy Buddy Of The Month, ever!  He is so sweet and has an adorable tuft of fuzz on the top of his sweet little head.  The Scent Of The Month for March is called Sunlit Morning. It's a delightful SPRING scent!  I put his Sunlit Morning Scent Pak in his back and he already smells so fresh and fabulous!  I think he will be perfect for the Easter Bunny to bring!  Especially because he is on sale in March for $22.50 and he comes with any Scent Pak of your choice!  Callie already snagged him for her room.  Yes, she's almost 16 but can't avoid the allure of Wellington!  Sunlit Morning will be on sale 10% off too.  I think it kind of smells like lemons and daffodils but it's described as: "Wake up to warm rays of sunshine. Experience the brilliance of a spring morning with juicy lemon and bergamot, white flowers, and a pinch of earthy sage."  I am sure that he's 100% darling!  If you want to check him out the site is www.whimages.scentsy.us

Living room board and batten progress

We (that alone is a funny statement because I have barely lifted a finger!) are making slow but steady progress on the living room transformation. Matt's working hard on it but that boring thing called a JOB is getting in the way of it's progress.  The other boring word, BUDGET gets in the way as well!  I thought I'd show you a little sneak of it! Here is the last photo I shared.


This is only one coat of the blue and it's on top of that horrible yellow we had so I don't think this is a accurate interpretation of the color.  Or something like that.

We put a little extra moulding around the inside of the boxes to make it a bit more formal since it is the living room.  It is still going to get a cap piece but Home Depot no longer carries the oak bull nose I love that we used in the family room.


*** Here is a little sidebar that just happened while I was working on this post.***
Lately, we've been teasing my oldest daughter Callie about a Euphemism she mixed up.  When discussing a certain boy in her grade, she said, "he's not the smartest porch light on the block"  instead of brightest porch light on the block.  Tonight I had a total blonde/Polish  (bottle blonde, half Polish) moment and said something really quite stupid. I then mentioned that I'm "sharpest" in the morning because it's about 7:15 in the evening as I type this.  While referencing the "not the sharpest knife in the block", Cole then said (all in good fun, of course!) that I wasn't actually even in the knife block.  I was actually more like a butter knife. (remember here friends that I am on pain meds for chronic pain in addition to the blonde-ness and the Polish-ness).  Then my sweet husband chimed in that if I was a butter knife in the morning then I must be a plastic knife at night.  Yes people, this is what I have to deal with!**


Back to the living room...I think it's so amazing how moulding can transform a room!  It already has so much more character and some of the furniture is sitting in the middle of the room draped with drop cloths.  I can't wait to see the finished project!


Here is the photo of the living room that I fell in love with.  We are using this exact paint color!  It's similar to our family room but Home Depot no longer carries Ralph Lauren paint.  It was called Impressionist blue and I still LOVE it several years later!  We may move these leather couches into the living room and get a new set for the family room.  The rooms will be a bit similar but I hope to put a little bit more of a polished spin (that was polish as in polish not Polish as in Poland) in that room and there won't be a T.V. either, thank goodness!  A nice, quiet room!  ...except when it will be full of 16 year olds!

Inspiration room from houzz.com  I LOVE this room!

Our family room.  This is the Ralph Lauren Impressionist Blue.  That mirror is actually a salvaged piece.  It's mahogany and it come out of a Gentlemens Cigar Bar in Baltimore that was being demolished.  We have several pieces of trim that we were able to get before the wreaking crew came in!  Some is used in the Nook on the surrounding moulding.

Valentine's Day

There is something that I need to share with you.  I really need to get this off my chest.  Here it goes...




I'm a PINAHOLIC.  Yes. That's correct.  I am utterly and completely addicted to pinterest. I already expressed my love for Ben and his fabulous site when I showed you the BEST tasting cupcake ever! If loving Pinterest is wrong than I don't want to be right! (I think I just used that cliche' a couple posts ago. Oh well.)


I have seen sooo many brilliant ideas for Valentine's.  Since the big kids are too BIG to give them out, I showed my overflowing Valentine inspiration board on Pinterest to Peyton and she picked the one with the lollipop.  I'm sure most of you have seen it, it's super cute for sure!  Here's how I did it just in case it isn't obvious.  Because sometimes the most obvious things are not obvious to me! Also, let me apologize for this snapshot-ish photo, we were in a hurry because...well, I am a procrastinator! Jeez, pinaholic, procrastinator, what's next?!

take a photo with your child
 holding their clasped  hand out

Play with the image a little in
Photoshop and then send
it to picnik for even
more fun goodies!

This is the one we had printed for
the class Valentines.  You just punch
a hole at the top and bottom of the hand
Easy Peasy

I never ever ever should have
taken this photo with one of the
vertical boards in our board
and batten family room
growing out of her head

Partying here:

Kids these days...

Before I regale you with a story about my progeny I NEED to share this with you.  It must be seen if you have not already!

Source: jezebel.com via Robyn on Pinterest

Okay, now that you all should have a smile on your face and cheer in your heart I would like to tell you about the faucet snobs that I have raised.  "Faucet snobs?" you say?  Why yes. That is what I said.  


*You might want to raid the fridge and make yourself a cup of tea.  This is gonna be a long one!*


As all good stories should, we'll start at the beginning.  It began early one Monday morning. Early, while the morning is still cloaked in darkness but you feel the promise of the sun about to sweep the dark away.  We are a house of coffee drinkers.  Our Keurig is a dear friend in the morning.  It's a delightful machine for sure, but sometimes I do miss having a big ol' pot of hot coffee waiting for me to claim.  Our Keurig sits on the counter just beside the sink, appropriately far enough away to look...appropriate.  This is where my son, Cole enters the story.  I'm going to give you a bit of background on Cole because I may not have mentioned in recent months or a year or so that Cole seemingly ingested fertilizer and burst forth a giant.  Maybe not exactly, but my sweet little guy is suddenly 6'3" and wears a size 15 shoe.  We are all still getting used to his transformation including Cole. He truly does not yet realize his size and strength.  Sometimes when he closes my Jeep door, I'm afraid it's going to implode into the car.  Just like every other morning, Cole begins to make himself a cup of coffee.  The Keurig has a large water reservoir that needs to be filled.  It happened to be empty so Cole thought he would use the spray attachment from the faucet and reach across and fill it that way.  Sounds like a fine idea.  However, Cole ripped the sprayer hose clean out of the plumbing apparatus thingy under the sink.  Obviously now we can't use the faucet because water will just gush under the sink.  As Murphy's law states, Home Depot doesn't carry the part needed for a quick fix.  We need a new faucet. Bummer.  There was not the kind of faucet on display that I wanted so we ordered one on line.  I REALLY wanted a bridge faucet. I also really wanted to win the lotto. Luckily, HD had a bridge faucet online but it would take 5-7 days to be delivered. As a family of 5, we could not be without the kitchen sink for a week, so Matt picked up the CHEAPEST he could find to get us through until the other was delivered. It was $17.39.  It was quickly installed.


This entire time we of course did NOT discuss the matter of the faucet with the kids because who in the world would think that they gave two hoots?  The next morning, Callie went to use the sink and just kind of stood there for a second and looked at it.  Being the smart*ss Mother that I can be, I asked her if she liked the new faucet.  I gushed about it's lovely plastic, Crystal-like handles and it's lovely clean lined silver painted plastic spout.  It's MODERN and stylish design was the perfect addition to our kitchen.  Callie didn't look too convinced.  She was polite and told me it looked nice.  A few moments later, Cole came down and also noticed the new addition.  He was NOT so diplomatic.  He said that we HAD to be kidding. We could NOT keep that faucet. He even said, "What am I going to tell my friends?"!  He walked away muttering that he could never have friends over again and was going to move out.


I'm not sure at this point if I should be proud that my children have a strong aesthetic sense for all things "home" or should I be appalled that I raised these children to be so snobby as to notice a cheap faucet? Have we brought up a couple of home decor monsters?  The truly ironic thing is that I'm relatively sure that this is the faucet style we had on our kitchen sink growing up!  I'm truly surprised that I survived after having that faucet in my home and subjecting my friends to its disfigurement! As well as it's complete lack of style.