When deepening a pantry you’ll have to decide what foods take priority and where you want to begin building up. Start with the goal of having at least one month’s worth of food-stuff for your pantry. It’s all a very personal choice dependent upon your needs. I always make soup and use fresh veggies, so you will not find Campbells Soup or canned corn in my pantry.

{images via Crown Point}

If you’ve got kids I bet you’ll want a good supply …

Believe it or not, there is a method to achieving the perfect bread crust. Shiny, dull, sweet, or crisp ~ today I am sharing tips of bread crust. The next time you bake bread, follow these helpful hints and you’ll get the exact type of crust that you desire.

Shiny, crisp bread crust = brush before you bake with a beaten egg

Yellow, shiny bread crust = brush dough before baking with only the egg yolk

Dull finish with a crisp bread crust = brush unbaked loaf …

A few weeks ago, I gave a tutorial on ABCD Design that seemed to be a hit with all who read it. I figured since many of you don’t make it over to ABCD on a regular basis that perhaps I should teach you how to arrange flowers in a glass container here on EADL!

First, it helps to have the right tools for flower arranging. A Swiss Army knife, a set of stem cutters, and some clear floral tape will …

Well, the Holiday season is upon us! Have you started your gift shopping yet? I can’t help but feel painfully behind. At this point, I have only purchased one gift. Heck, I haven’t even gotten to designing a holiday card yet. Yikes! Never fear, I have a feeling I’ll get a few more holiday prize purchases under my belt starting on Wednesday…

The Real Simple Pop-Up shop is expecting up to 10,000 visitors a day, and I will be one of …

Wow – the last few months have been an incredibly busy time! As you might recall, we bought a house about 90 miles outside NYC way back in June of this year. I spent the Summer playing ‘General Contractor.’ I oversaw the weekend house renovations while the Mr. stayed in the City to work. Summer wound down and our kitchen cabinets hadn’t arrived yet. At the end of August, we bit the bullet and moved our things from storage into …

As Summer wraps up, my mind turns to cooking on the grill. What recipes should I try to squeeze in before the leaves fall to the ground and it’s too cold to go grill something up in the yard? Since I have been a Big City dweller for the entirety of my adult life, this is the first time that I have had access to cooking on a grill. What a Summer it has been!! And while I am still …

After two months of renovations, we moved into the house last weekend! We still do not have a working kitchen, that should come sometime in October. I have been up to my eyeballs in unpacking fun. Sorting through boxes, getting reacquainted with all my worldly possessions.

The first set of boxes that I unpacked -after our move last weekend- were my notebooks from the chef training program at the Natural Gourmet Institute. (I completed the program during the Spring and …

I don’t know about you, but I spend most of Springtime fretting about when the weather is going to teeter over 70 degrees. It must be my Swedish heritage, because I fare much better in frigid Winter weather. When the ladies of EAD asked me to share the items that get me through Summer, several comfortable, body cooling-items came to mind…

Image via Athleta

The Organic Cotton Senorita Dress from Athleta. They come in the most delicious, organic colors. The dress comes …

Boy, has my day in the life done an about face recently! Those are birds you hear chirping …and yes… that is a breeze through the open window. It’s about 6am, the sun has risen and I am wide awake. A mere 90 miles from New York City ~ but it might as well be a world away!

I roll out of my bed onto the sawdust covered floor. I am achy from sleeping on my budget-friendly Ikea mattress. I rub …

Each year, I make a huge batch of frozen vodka slush around Memorial Day. I keep it in the freezer for impromptu entertaining on our roof-top throughout the hot Summer months. I must admit, our guests are always thoroughly impressed when something so delicious is just waiting in the freezer for them and can be enjoyed at a moments notice.

Frozen Vodka Slush
Recipe Notes: Prepare this recipe a day or two in advance so the slush can freeze and be extra …