Art of Food Festival

The Riverdale Art Center and The Riverdale Land Conservancy joined forces on September 14th to raise money for the restoration of Riverdale's Glenburn Estate. Above are a few photos of the delicious food, wine and art that was available at the fundraising event.


Jacklyn Lorraine

American Pie

The scent of warm apples and cinnamon baking waft in from the kitchen. It's that time of year again, where the leaves change color, soft sweaters keep the chill away, and the itch to bake fills my every pore. Yesterday I baked my first apple pie of the season, made from fresh apples picked on my friends farm.

It's a simple recipe that creates a savory "American" Apple Pie, with a golden brown, caramelized crust. Yum!!

"American" Apple Pie

Ingredients

1 package double pastry pie crust
1/2 cup unsalted butter
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup water
2 tbsp cinnamon
6 Granny Smith Apples

Directions

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Peel, slice, and core apples. Toss apples with the cinnamon.

Melt butter in a sauce pan. Stir in flour to thicken. Add white sugar, brown sugar and water; bring to a boil. Reduce temperature and simmer for 5 minutes.

Place the bottom crust in a 9" pie pan. Fill with apples. Cover with basket weave crust. Gently pour the sugar and butter syrup over the crust making sure to cover entire pie, but not drip off the edge.

Bake for 15 minutes at 425 degrees. Reduce the temperature to 350 degrees and continue baking for 35 to 45 minutes.



Jacklyn Lorraine

Pottery Barn DIY

So if your anything like me, you'd love to jump into a Pottery Barn magazine and call it home. Everything they do in that magazine screams comfort and style. So in the process of reorganizing our office I received the newest Pottery Barn magazine in the mail. First off I was overjoyed with the Fall front door display (which I plan on reproducing at my door step), but their workspace pages where to die for. The organization, the color schemes, the use of modular wall organizers. I was in heaven. What they call their "Daily System" is composed of interchangeable boards; a corkboard, a linen pinboard, a calender. etc. This was a perfect option for our unused wall space above the desk. But who wants to spend $200 on a wall organizer? Below is the Pottery Barn "Daily System" and below that is my $70 DIY modular wall system.

Pottery Barn "Daily System"


DIY Modular Wall System






What I used:
4 white "Ribba" frames from Ikea.
3 - 9 3/4" x 19 3/4" at $9.99 each
1 - 19 3/4" x 15 3/4" at $15.99 each
1/2 yd of Fabric $3
Roll of 1/2" ribbon $1
Corkboard Roll - $12
8" Small Shelf - $6.99

I took all the glass out of the frame and just kept the solid cardboard back piece. In 3 out of the 4 frames I covered the cardboard piece with either corkboard or fabric, keeping it in place with a staple gun. The ribbon was also held in place with a staple gun. The frame with the shelf, I spray painted the cardboard piece white to match the frames and the shelf. My handy husband then added a small piece of wood behind the shelf so he could nail into something when attaching the shelf. When all frames where assembled we measured and placed picture hooks with matching nails in the wall. After we tested the accuracy of our work we nailed all the frames together in the back. Then ta da... a wall organizer for under $100!



Jacklyn Lorraine

Eva

I thought it time I introduce my puppy. Eva is a mini dachshund short hair/long hair mix. We named her Eva after one of the characters in one of my favorite movies, Wall-E. We always said if we got a male dog we would name him Wall-E and a female dog, Eva. So Eva it is and it totally fits because I am always calling her name out, just like Wall-E does in the movie.



She is a wonderful puppy. She always loves me, always brings a smile to my face, and never holds a grudge. She loves her belly rubbed and will lie on her back until you rub it. Here she is hiding in the tall grasses that surround her dog house.




Jacklyn Lorraine