DIY: GIFTING GRANOLA

I had a few lady friends over last night and I thought I would try something new and send them home with a party favor. I save ALL of my glass jars (pickles, salsas, pastas) so I have a ton on hand. Soak them in warm water, peel the label off and you have a perfectly good gifting vessel for the following granola recipe! This is the first time I have ever made granola and I will have to say it is easier than you'd imagine! Oh, and delicious! I will probably never purchase grocery store granola again. Feel free to add a cup of your favorite dried fruit to the recipe to add some color! To dress them up a bit, I cut out some lace fabric squares, set them over the top of the jar and screwed the lids on! 

Ingredients For Honey Vanilla Granola: 

• 4 Cups Oats
• 1 Cup Chopped Almonds
• 1 TBSP Vanilla Extract
• 1 TBSP Cinnamon
• 1/2 TSP Salt 
• 1/3 Cup Packed Brown Sugar 
• 1 Cup Honey
• 1 TBSP Margarine or Butter, Melted

WARDROBE WEDNESDAY: MY BOYFRIENDS BACK

When Robert is away something I like to do is wear his clothes. I don't know why I find it comforting but alas I do and it happens to work out since he has a pretty sweet wardrobe. Well, that and we wear the same size...I enjoy rocking the 'boyfriend' look or in my case the 'husband' look. All the while I have been singing The Angels tune...

From top to bottom

Vintage CELINE Scarf

Derek Cardigan Glasses

Mandarina Lipstick by Milani

American Apparel Cardigan

Frontier Ruckus Band Tee

Dylan George Skinny Crop Denim

Vintage High Top Converse

OUT/ABOUT: THE BOYS

For some time now I have been meaning to take great photos of our boys. Finally, I think I have done just that. We spent a beautiful day in the yard and they were excellent models. 

Ray Price-Ellis/Husky/50lbs: The neediest and snuggliest of the bunch also the winner for most photogenic

 Doc Watson-Ellis/Afghan Hound Mix/100lbs: The mad scientist who loves everyone & the daddy's boy

 Pup Ellis/Rhodesian Ridgeback Mix/50lbs: Mom's crotchety old man who doesn't care for anyone else

TASTE: VEGGIE TAMALES

Making food in bulk is my favorite thing to do for Robert and I at the beginning of the week. That way, any time either of us are hungry throughout the day we have a quick and simple meal that only requires warming back up! Tamales are definitely one of our personal favorites. This is just a basic recipe (that can also be doubled) made with a can of mixed veggies. When I am feeling creative I will spring for something a little more exciting like sauteed spinach and garlic or caramelized onion and black bean but seeing as it's just me here I kept it simple. 
Ingredients:

• 1 Cup Corn Masa
• 1 Cup Water (or veggie broth for extra flavor!)
• 1/3 Vegetable Shortening (don't have shortening on hand? use margarine)
• 1/2 TSP Baking Powder
• 1 TSP Salt
• 1 (12 oz) Can Mixed Veggies (or beans, corn whatever!) 
• 8-10 Dried Corn Husks

H/S/K&T: DES ELLIS

This will be a guest spot starting next week but seeing as it's the first post of its kind I decided to try one myself! I absolutely love lace so I began with this adorable lace dress by Free People and things kind of fell in to place after that. 

HEAD: lipstick in mac red from mac

SHOULDERS: floral mesh lace dress in antique by free people

KNEES: sheer luxe over the knee sock from american apparel

+TOES: vintage gray lace up boots from etsy

LISTEN: DANIEL ROMANO

Last night, I had the pleasure of catching Canadian cowboy Daniel Romano at The Basement. He and his two players were dressed to the nines with Romano donning an old school nudie-style suit. Romano's most recent album, Come Cry With Me, was released under Normaltown Records based out of Athens, GA. It was a friend at Normaltown that had informed me of the show so I went purely based on this recommendation. Suffice to say...I, and those with me, thoroughly enjoyed the show. Check out this video from his previous album, Sleep Beneath The Willow. His newest release is also available to sample via YouTube here.

DIY: LACE SCREENS

As a long time supporter of all things lace I will search for anything lace and every once in awhile you come across something grand! Like this photo of lace window screens. I realized that these were just photos sans tutorial but window screens are easy enough so I tried it out on our broken door screen. I was so pleased with the results I decided to go ahead and do the kitchen windows too! This is all it took...

• Original Screen Frame
• Scrap Lace (enough to cover the screen in one piece)
• Scissors
• Spray Adhesive or Packing Tape (tape needs to be strong enough to hold fabric in place) 

1. Remove any mesh screening from frame. If you wish to leave the mesh intact, that is perfectly fine. 
2. If you have spray adhesive, wet the edges of the frame just enough so the lace will stick.
3. Stretch lace out over the frame using either the spray adhesive or tape to hold the other sides in place.
4. Pop the screen back in to the window and pull the lace taut. Make sure the screen is tight enough so the lace does not slide through. 
5. Use your scissors to cut off the excess fabric. 
6. Step back and admire your lace windows! Before and after photos following the jump...

LIVE: ELLIS

I spent all day cleaning so that I could post just a few glimpses of our new home here in Nashville. The house is basically a 4/2 two-story brick cottage built in 1940. Hardwood floors, tall ceilings, glass door knobs with working skeleton keys and my favorite part....a big basement with stone walls! We turned the basement in to a guest area/movie projector room complete with pallet days beds and netflix! The following photos are of some of my favorite things...

Religious Propaganda.

Our Collection.

Introductions are in order...

After a (not so) brief hiatus from my former blog (the skin horse), I have returned! Robert and I have officially settled and dug our heels in here in Nashville and I am ready to show everyone all of it. Here on the new site I will be keeping it simple, consistent and feature new content that I did not have the opportunity previously. Of course...I will be throwing in a recipe or two here and there since they had become quite popular! The new categories will be as follows:

LISTEN: shows, music, events, anything that can be heard

LIVE: beautiful nashville homes and/or the beautiful people that live in them

LOOK: clothes...any and all looks whether it be a sweet dress I decided to wear or a bold creation of an outfit some else did

TASTE: food! recipes, restaurants etc

H/S/K&T: will profile a single person, artist, musician, friend. they will choose articles of clothing/accessories that they would like to adorn their head+shoulders+knees&toes with ) 

OUT/ABOUT: random doings

DIY: exactly as you know it...trying new things, testing others tutorials, crafting+design projects

The next seven posts will be one blog/day from each category then it shall be a free for all. 
Well, can't wait to get started...beginning with what friends and family have been asking about...our new Ellis Nashville Digs...