Mother's Day Dinner

This year Chip and I invited everyone over for Mother's Day.  Any excuse I can find to cook for a group of people and I am there!  My mom is a big fan of comfort food and one thing we always remember about my Grandma is baked fried chicken.  Yum.  I have had a tough time getting the crispy outside that I always see so I thought I would go to the queen of fried chicken herself, Paula Deen.  I was not disappointed.  Check out how beautiful it turned out!  It has also been delicious as leftovers this week.  It makes me think that I am on a picnic.  Maybe it's time for you to try.  Good luck!  dann


Southern Fried Chicken
{Food Network}

Ingredients
House Seasoning:
1 cup salt
1/4 cup black pepper
1/4 cup garlic powder
Southern Fried Chicken:
4 eggs
1/3 cup water
1 cup hot red pepper sauce
2 cups self-rising flour
1 teaspoon pepper
House Seasoning
2 1/2-pound chicken, cut into pieces
Oil, for frying, preferably peanut oil
Directions
To make the House Seasoning, mix ingredients together and store in an airtight container for up to 6 months.

In a medium size bowl, beat the eggs with the water. Add enough hot sauce so the egg mixture is bright orange. In another bowl, combine the flour and pepper. Season the chicken with the House Seasoning. Dip the seasoned chicken in the egg, and then coat well in the flour mixture.

Heat the oil to 350 degrees F in a deep pot. Do not fill the pot more than 1/2 full with oil.

Fry the chicken in the oil until brown and crisp. Dark meat takes longer than white meat. It should take dark meat about 13 to 14 minutes, white meat around 8 to 10 minutes.

One step closer to completion...

Have you ever had a fabric sits on a roll forever because you love it so much and you are too afraid to commit?  No.  Me neither.  This fabric has been tucked away for almost 5 years until recently.  I have been agonizing over what to do for window treatments in our "fish bowl" living room since we moved in and finally decided to pull the trigger.  After seeing them up it's like, what was I waiting for? Now maybe I can move on to the next thing.  Bathroom limbo.  I have had a wallpaper sample hanging by a piece of masking tape next to my mirror in the bathroom for 6 months.  I think I will post the before picture and see what you think.  Have a great weekend with family.  As I write this, I realize that I have yet to eat a Reese's peanut butter egg.  What a waste! I am stopping at Walgreen's on the way home.

Peace out.  db

A year later.

Not long ago one of our clients told me that I needed to commit to the blog or remove it from our website. Agreed. The thing that's strange is that I feel like I have been transported in a time machine. I just read my post from April 3 last year. I cannot believe what has transpired. A store that has evolved into the best of dreams, a house that truly feels like my sanctuary and a boatload of friends. New and old. Truth be told, I didn't know what the hell I was doing. We literally spent the year listening to our clients and learning what it is that they wanted and needed. It sounds like we all want the same thing. A comfortable environment that makes us feel safe. A place that we can shut out the world some days and invite it in on others. A place that represents happy. Here are some pictures of that type of place that Chip and I have created. We still have lots that we want to do inside and out but we hope to welcome lots of friends and make many memories.