Kit Davey, Interior Designer
18 Years in business - Over 2,600 homes transformed!
Newsletter: Fall 2006
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Contents:
1) Quote
2) Interesting Websites
3) Recipe
4) Invitation to Art Sale/Open House
5) Tips
6) Realtor?
1) Quote of the Quarter:
“To live a creative life we must lose our fear of being wrong.”
Joseph Chilton Pearce.
2) Interesting Websites to visit:
Want to reduce your stress and feel prepared for the holidays?
- Visit www.OrganizedChristmas.com.
- www.FreePledge.com is an online shopping service founded to help nonprofit organizations raise funds through innovations and technology. It’s a gateway to more than 100 online retailers (such as Amazon, Apple, Macy’s and Target), and each purchase generates a donation to your chosen nonprofit of 5% or more of the purchase price with no price increase to you.
- For an easy–to-use form, “Planning for the Future: Valuable Documents at your Fingertips,” visit www.aarp.org/famlies/caregiving and click on “Caring for Parents”. Scroll down to ”Valuable Documents at Your Fingertips for a single record of all your valuable papers, such as birth certificates, wills, mortgages, etc. Great for a “grab and go” emergency binder, or to leave for family members in case something happens to you.
3) Recipe
Kit’s Guilt-free, Chocolate Mudslide Oreo Cheesecake
I created this recipe after having a swoon-inducing slice of cheesecake at the Cheesecake Factory in Palo Alto. It’s a bit involved, but definitely worth it!
Ingredients:
Crust:
1/2 of a 1 lb. 3 oz package of Reduced Fat Oreo Cookies
¼ cup egg substitute or one egg white
Cheesecake filling:
2 cups chocolate chips
1/3 cup boiling water
½ cup sugar
¾ cup egg substitute (or 3 egg whites)
2 cups non-fat sour cream
1 lb. non-fat cream cheese
1 tsp vanilla
1 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
Remainder of package of Oreo cookies
Directions:
Crust:
Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. In a food processor, break up ½ the Oreos and pour in the egg substitute. Blend until moistened and or/gummy. Spread the mixture into the bottom on a 9” spring form pan. It will be a bit sticky, so you might need to use your fingers to flatten it out across the bottom of the pan. Wet your fingers a bit so that the “dough” doesn’t stick to your fingers. Bake at 300 degrees for about 20 minutes and let cool while you make the rest of the cake.
Cheesecake:
In a large mixing bowl, pour the boiling water over the chips to melt them. Mix until thoroughly melted and smooth. Gradually blend in all the rest of the ingredients, EXCEPT the remaining Oreos. Pour half the mixture onto the prebaked crust. Break the cookies into smaller pieces and push into the filling. Pour the remainder of the filling on top, making sure to cover all the cookies. Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes until the edges of the cake are puffy, but the center is jiggly. Turn off the oven and prop it open with a wooden spoon. Keep the cake in the oven for an hour with the door ajar. Cool 6 to 48 hours in the frig before serving.
4) You are invited to My Art Sale Open House!
Please come to my annual Art Sale and Open House on
Sat., November 11th from 12 to 5 pm.
You are welcome to tour my home and also to shop for jewelry, paintings, sculpture pieces, greeting cards and other works created by 10 artisans who set up tables throughout my home. Bring your friends!
Location: 1539 Granger Way, Redwood City.
5) Tips: Odds and Ends
- To keep telemarketers from calling you on your cell phone call the National DO NOT CALL list at: 888-382-1222 from your cell phone. It blocks your number for five years.
- For recycled, refilled printer cartridges try www.cartridgeworldusa.com.
- It’s time to switch out your summer for winter clothes. Here’s an easy way to store your flip-flops and sandals: pick up a cardboard wine box from your local liquor or grocery store. Slip a pair of sandals into each slot---voila!---storage for at least 12 pairs!
- Can’t decide whether to keep or get rid something? Here are a few questions to ask yourself as you are decluttering or organizing:
- Have I touched this in the past year?
- Does it make me feel bad about myself when I look at it?
- Is it broken or soiled?
- Will I ever really fix it?
- Do I really need this?
- Do I love it?
- Did someone I don’t like give it to me?
- Am I done with this collection?
- Do I already have one or more of it?
- Is it a project that I have put off doing and probably will never really get to?
- Does it drain my energy?
- Is it ugly?
- Does it remind me of unhappy memories?
- Is the time for using it past (i.e. college text books, kid’s clothes, etc.)?
• I think this is a fantastic idea! One of my clients held a “Help Mom Prepare for a Disaster” Birthday party. The hostess provided big plastic bins and each guest brought a photo of themselves with their address and contact info on the back, a gallon of drinking water, 3 cans of food, along with a suggested gift. Gift ideas included: First aid kit, first aid book, plastic utensils and bags, matches, hand lotion, contact lens supplies, sunscreen, paper goods, flashlight and batteries, dust mask, heavy gloves, crow bar, duct tape, space blanket, etc. By the end of the evening her Mom had an earthquake kit ready to go.
- Have I touched this in the past year?
6) Need a Realtor?
If you are thinking of selling your home and don’t have a Realtor, give me a call. As a stager, I work with the most qualified and experienced agents on the Peninsula. I am happy to refer you: 650-367-7370.