Huffington Post

So excited to share that Grace Warren Designs was featured on The Huffington Post.

YEAH!

Best Potato Soup Recipe

So, if you are anything like me, you hate the bad weather which seems to plague us in Chicago. Wet, rainy, sleet snow and howling winds one day and the next just warm enough to start to melt everything into a yucky sloppy mess.

The good side?
Cold weather = good great soup recipes to try out and stay warm indoors.
I found this little gem from here and made it. I adapted a few things from the original and it was AMAZING.
Not very healthy but plan to make again with 1/2 of cream and 1/2 regular milk.
Loaded Baked Potato Soup
Serves 6
1 pound bacon, roughly chopped
1 medium yellow onion, diced
1 large carrot, peeled and diced
3/4 cup diced celery
10 medium red potatoes, diced (no need to peel)
1/4 cup flour
2 cups chicken or vegetable stock
Coarse salt, freshly ground pepper, to taste
4 cups heavy whipping cream
Optional garnishes: chopped chives, bacon bits, sour cream, shredded cheddar and Monterey Jack cheese

1. In a 6- to 8-quart stockpot over medium heat, fry bacon until crisp. (I cooked mine in the oven and then cooked the veggies in the stock pot with a bit of butter and it turned out great)
2. Remove bacon and drain on paper towels, reserving half for garnish. In bacon fat, cook onions, carrots, and celery until the onions are translucent. Add potatoes and cook for 4 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3. Whisk in flour and stir constantly over low heat until the flour is cooked and the mixture has thickened slightly, about 5 to 7 minutes. Add chicken stock and half of the bacon. Season with salt and pepper.
4. Over medium-high heat, bring the soup to a simmer and cook for 25 minutes or until the potatoes are soft. Mash some of the potatoes for thicker, creamier texture. Add whipping cream and simmer for 5 minutes.
5. Adjust thickness by adding water or stock. Soup should have a creamy consistency.
6. Season to taste, and garnish with toppings.

Cooks’ notes: Soak diced potatoes in cold water until ready to use to keep them from turning brown. To make bacon easier to chop, lightly freeze.

Very filling soup so a little goes a long way.

Enjoy!

Pinterest

Okay, I am officially addicted to it.  I can't believe that this exists for me to dream of all the projects i can fatham and most that I don't have the time for. But what's a girl to do?  Pin. Pin. Pin. Pin. Pin.

I will say that I have gotten several ideas from there that I have adapted for my needs.  From potato soup to large size canvas prints, I have officially become an addict.

And I am okay with it! I have tons of new finds everyday, so feel free to follow and see the cool things I am dreaming up!

DIY Candy kiss Printable Tutorial

DIY Candy Kiss printables

These little guys add such a cute addition to any event.  These are available in the shop in all sorts of different variations from holidays to baby showers and more.

What you need:

1. Purchase your DIY printable design from the shop.

2. Print onto full label sheets (can be found at most office supply stores)

3. Use scissors or a straight edge cutter to cut alongside one edge of the square design

4. If you are wanting mini-squares continue to cut out each square

5. If you want to use them on hershey kisses, rolos, or peanut butter cups you can use a 3/4 inch round punch to cut them out.

6. Peel and stick.

Enjoy!

 

DIY Small Treat Box

I love these little guys!  So easy to do.

1. Print out the box (can be purchased in the etsy store)
2. Cut out the box
3. Score the lines for the box
4. Glue the small flap seen on the right side in the photo below to the left side shown below






Fold bottom flaps in and fill with treats!

Enjoy!

DIY Pillow Boxes Tutorial

DIY Pillowbox Tutorial

These guys are so cute and really easy to put together;

What you will need:

∙Inkjet printer

∙ 8 1/2 x 11 sheet of thick cardstock

∙Pillow box template (can be found in the Grace Warren Designs shop)

∙ Scissors

∙ Glue

1. First download and print your pillow box onto a 8 1/2 x 11 cardstock

2. Cut out the box and score the lines shown in the photo below

3. Glue the top thin flap (you can glue onto the outside or inside)

4. Fold in sides of pillow box after glue is dry



5. Fill with treats and you are all set!

My nerdy shoe rack

Okay some people think that this in genius and some people may view it as very tacky.  I am going to side with the ones who think that I am genius.  I don't know about you, but I have always dreamt of a perfect kitchen where there is a perfect little place for everything and it is always clean and did I mention that it does this on its own?  Okay so I need to wake up from the dream that I created and face the reality that my kitchen is too small to fit all of the things that I need to fit in it.  If you were to ask my DH, he would tell you that I have way too much stuff to put in a regular size kitchen (I think that may be his way of saying that I need to get rid of my "stuff"....although I am sure he would think of a different word ;-)

I really needed to de-clutter my drawers but where was I going to put all of this stuff?  I don't have a kitchen island, but I do have a small pantry with some wasted space.  So I decided to put a shoe rack to work. I bought one for $9 and started to fill it up with the odds and ends in my drawers that I don't use as often (birthday candles, candy thermometers, and other specialty tools that I need but not that often)

So here is what it looks like....a little trashy, but until I get that larger kitchen, I love it!