Carrie, Author at A Sweet Spot Home

Books: My Summer Reading List

May 20, 2013 By Carrie Leave a Comment

In the summer issue of A Sweet Spot: Home Magazine, I included a couple of articles about what books are on my summer reading list. This included both novels (and one non-fiction) as well as cookbooks. Just in case you missed the magazine, (and if you did, please read it here!) here are the books that are currently taking up a little space in my Kindle:

1. THE WEDNESDAY DAUGHTERS | Meg Waite Clayton: I’ve not yet started this book, but this book had my attention when I read that it was a story about mothers, daughters, and secrets…and the fact that it’s set in England didn’t hurt, either. 2. THE SILVER STAR | Jeannette Walls: With the massive success of The Glass Castle, I knew that The Silver Star would be a book I’d definitely be interested in reading. This story about “an intrepid girl who challenges the social injustices of the adult world” promises to be a good read. 3. THE TURK WHO LOVED APPLES | Matt Gross: This is the book that I’m currently tearing through and I’m enjoying it so much. As someone who would love to spend all of her time traveling and visiting new places, this book is really speaking to me. 4. WHISTLING PAST THE GRAVEYARD | Susan Crandall: I’m about one third of the way through this book and have found it to be a captivating read. So much happens in so few pages, it has definitely kept me intrigued. The book is told from the perspective of a child, which can make the story seem so much more heartbreaking in places, and more adorable in others. A great read so far.

But as if those weren’t enough books to keep me busy, I’m also reading some other books to help me improve my skills in different areas. Let’s call this my professional reading, shall we?

1. PLATE TO PIXEL | Helen Dujardin: I’ve been eying this book for months and months and clicked the “add to cart” button and ordered it. It’s a gorgeous book filled with extremely helpful tips on taking beautiful food photography. 2. WILL WRITE FOR FOOD | Dianne Jacob: This book has actually been on my Kindle for months and months…it’s just that I forgot I’d ordered it. While searching for a different book, I came across this one and started reading it. It’s filled with great ideas for improving your food blog, your reviews, and even ideas for cookbook writing. (Not that I have ANY interest in that at all…..*liar*….) 3. START. | Jon Acuff: This book was all the rage at Blissdom this year. My Instagram feed blew up with images of the cover and at first, I thought, they’re just promoting it because they’re at Blissdom, and that’s just what you do. Then I started hearing about people reading it who hadn’t been to Blissdom, and they were impressed. So, I downloaded a copy and started reading. It’s an easy read filled with inspiring ideas to help you escape being average and start being awesome, in all areas of your life! 4. FOOD STYLING FOR PHOTOGRAPHERS | Linda Bellingham & Jean Ann Bybee: While I’ve only skimmed this book so far, I can tell it’s going to be a great resource book for me to keep on hand. Filled with tricks and tips that will help the food you’re photographing come across better in the images, this book is a real asset to all food photographers.

I’ve also got some great cookbook suggestions that will be releasing this summer, but you’ll have to check out the magazine to hear about those!

Happy reading!

Filed Under: Books Tagged With: books, food, food blog, food photography, non-fiction, novels, photography, summer, summer 2013, What I'm Reading, writing

Decor: Light Paint Versus Dark Paint

May 16, 2013 By Carrie Leave a Comment

For a while a few years ago, I was obsessed with painting walls in my home dark colors. I took the bathroom that my kids, which was painted builder’s beige, and painted it dark green. It’s a small bathroom and while I worried the dark color would make it seem miniscule, it actually make it feel really cozy and made the lighter colored floor really come to life. But, while I loved it for a while, (and still don’t mind it) I’ve learned that dark colored paint in a children’s bathroom is just asking for trouble. Water spots and toothpaste shows up so much more than if the walls were painted a lighter color, and I feel that no matter how often I clean the walls, they still don’t look clean enough. So, it’s time to repaint, and while I’m trending towards lighter and brighter colors in my home right now, I still have a serious love for the coziness of a dark room. What are your thoughts? Light? Dark? I’ve found some great examples of both styles…it’s hard to pick a favorite!

Eclectic Home Office by Los Angeles Media And Blogs Lisa Borgnes Giramonti

Traditional Dining Room by Weston Architect Oak Hill Architects

Contemporary Bedroom by Toronto Interior Designer Jennifer Backstein Interiors

Contemporary Living Room by Toronto Photographer Lisa Petrole Photography

Traditional Bedroom

Eclectic Living Room by Other Metro Media And Blogs A Few Things From My Life

Contemporary Living Room by Cambridge Architect LDa Architecture & Interiors

Eclectic Dining Room by Other Metro Media And Blogs Jeanette Lunde

Decisions, decisions, right???

Filed Under: Around the House Tagged With: around the house, dark paint, dark walls, decor, home, home decor, light paint, light walls, paint, painting, walls

Free Designs: Camping Kit Collection

May 15, 2013 By Carrie Leave a Comment

First of all, thank you to all of you who had such kind words about the summer issue of A Sweet Spot: Home Magazine. I’m so pleased with the end result and look forward to making the autumn/Halloween issue bigger and even better! I’m so thankful to everyone who took a moment or two to browse through the issue, and I’m also extremely thankful to those who contributed. Doing an entire magazine all on my own is so much more work than I’d ever anticipated, and having those who are willing and excited to participate in the process is such a gift. Many, many thanks to you all!

Now, on to today’s post. If you read the summer issue of the magazine, (and if you haven’t, you can read it here), you saw an article contributed by Thuy Bui of My Paper Pinwheel. When discussing in what way she’d like to contribute, Thuy threw out the option of creating little care packages for kids going away to camp this summer. I instantly thought it would be a great idea, and she ran with it. Together, she and the amazingly talented Bridgett Edwards of Perideau Designs came up with the perfect printables to send with your favorite camper this summer.

Aren’t these adorable? I love the color combinations that Bridgett chose to use, the blue, green, brown, and pop of red and orange from the campfire, the whole thing just works. If you’d like to download this entire collection including large note cards, small note cards, s’mores gift tags, and encouragement cards, for FREE, click here. Bridgett has graciously agreed to share the entire collection with all A Sweet Spot: Home Magazine readers for free.

Many thanks to Thuy for styling, photographing, and writing the article featured in the summer issue, and to Bridgett for designing such an adorable printables collection.

Filed Under: Around the House Tagged With: camp, camping, free, free printables, kids, note cards, notes, s'mores, summer

Publications: A Sweet Spot: Home Magazine Summer Issue Now Available

May 14, 2013 By Carrie 4 Comments

Today’s the day! After a whole lot of work, the summer issue of A Sweet Spot: Home Magazine is now available! Thank you to my amazing contributors, Melissa Chambers from Truly Chic Inspirations, (to whom I owe thousands and thousands of thank you’s!) Thuy Bui from My Paper Pinwheel, and Stephanie Studer of LifeCreated. Also, many thanks to Carmen Taylor Rogge of The Flair Exchange and Kori Clark of Paper & Pigtails and koriclark.com for patiently answering my interview questions. I sincerely hope you will all like it as much as the spring issue, I’m extremely excited to move on the the autumn/Halloween issue…but for today, my poor house desperately needs my attention!

Click the image to be taken to the issue…enjoy!

Filed Under: Around the House Tagged With: a sweet spot: home magazine, digital magazine, e-magazine, magazine, summer issue

Food: Caprese Bruschetta

May 10, 2013 By Carrie 1 Comment

It’s Friday, the happiest of all days for me! So, in honor of my great mood, I’m sharing my favorite appetizer. Caprese Bruschetta is great to serve during the summertime when enjoying fresh tomatoes and basil from the garden. Because it’s been raining here practically non-stop for weeks, I haven’t been able to plant my garden yet, so I had to settle for grocery store cherry tomatoes and basil. Not ideal, but still really tasty!

This “recipe” really couldn’t be simpler. It’s basically just assembling the ingredients, and the only cooking you have to do is grilling the slices of bread…super simple.

Ingredients
cherry tomatoes, quartered
mozzarella cheese, cubed
olive oil
chopped basil
baguette, sliced
butter, for baguette
salt and pepper

Directions
1. Slice your baguette and spread both sides with butter. Grill over medium heat until browned.
2. In a bowl, add cherry tomatoes and mozzarella cheese.
3. Drizzle cherry tomatoes and mozzarella cheese with olive oil and then add chopped basil.
4. Refrigerate until ready to serve. This can be made ahead of time, as the flavor improves with time.
5. Spoon cherry tomato mixture over sliced bread and serve.

I didn’t include amounts in this because it’s really up to your preferences. I prefer more mozzarella cheese than some people may, so I used one container of cherry tomatoes and half a package of mozzarella cheese (not shredded). You can’t mess up this recipe, so tailor it to suit your preferences!

Here’s a pinnable image if you want to save this recipe for later.