World Design

Living in Alamo, California, my children aren't exposed to a diversity of culture. However, JP and I make an effort to introduce them to world influences with different types of food, music, books about different cultures. Additionally, I try to intersperse different world influences into our home decor and tell them the stories when I can get them to listen:

African Wedding Baskets, the traditional gift given to brides in Zambia and Angola, sit on the table in our entry.


Two sets of Chinese Fortune Sticks, a traditional method of fortune telling, sit in the family room to be used randomly when they catch someone's interest.


A vintage Suzani, a form of Uzbek textile art that was traditionally made as a part of a woman's dowry, roams around the house and has lately found a home on JP's and my bed:


And most recently a vintage Indian Kantha, a quilt that's block printed and quilted by hand, was added to our stack of throws in the family room.


I like to think we're planting the seeds of curiosity now, and our children will grow up with open hearts and a taste for adventure that will take them around the world to see for themselves what's beyond their safe havens of California, Washington, Idaho and Arizona.

The Great Cinnamon Bun Quest of 2009

Occasionally, Suburban Zen wanders off the chosen topic of interior design for families and into the weeds on some randomly selected tangent. This is one of those times.

Early in the year, Jack came home from his best friend Jake's house one night and said "Why did I have to come home so early? Mrs. Lawrentz was making cinnamon rolls." Now I have to admit, in my head my response was

"Geez, Sheryl, you already have the most polite child in the town of Alamo, a house that's (according to Jack) a million times more fun than ours, and now you must make homemade cinnamon rolls on a weeknight? Dial it down a notch, girl. I can't keep up."

But out loud I said "Sounds yummy. Let's make some this weekend." That exchange developed into the Great Cinnamon Bun Quest of 2009. So far this year, I have made six different kinds of cinnamon rolls, looking for a recipe that's simple, delicious, and doesn't take an entire afternoon to make. For the benefit of Suburban Zen readers, here are the highlights:

Williams-Sonoma Cinnamon Roll Mix
Never did figure out what I did wrong, but the resulting product looked more like dog biscuits than cinnamon buns.

Martha Stewart's Truck Stop Cinnamon Rolls
The recipe calls for 10-13 cups of flour. Need I elaborate?

I was planning to try the Barefoot Contessa's Easy Sticky Bun recipe, but realized my definition of easy and hers were vastly different when I read that the recipe takes two days to make.

After much trial and error, I've found that the Holy Grail of cinnamon rolls is:

Buns made from Pillsbury Hot Roll Mix with two tablespoons of sugar added to it
Williams-Sonoma's Cream Cheese Frosting recipe, which I discovered when I made it for their Sweet Lemon Cupcakes and used the leftovers on my Cinnamon Rolls the next day.

Yummy indeed, and they can be made in less than an hour. Since the Great Cinnamon Bun Quest of 2009 began, I learned from Sheryl that she was making cinnamon rolls from a can that night. But her house is still way more fun than ours.