Just a quick note to let you guys know about a fantastic giveaway over at bryn alexandra!
The April Giveaway
If you love to sew or you want to learn, one yard pieces are a fabulous addition to your stash, and there are some really goregous prints included! I love that dusty purple ikat.
Check it out!
Saturday, April 2, 2011
Thursday, February 24, 2011
After 10 months
The drapes for the living and dining room are sewn and ready to hang!
We'll be hanging them the next time we see each other, which will be either tomorrow or Saturday. I absolutely can't wait.
I actually bought the fabric last April with plans to reupholster the green chair (which, man, I've almost had that thing for a year now). But it didn't have the right weight for upholstery. I still loved it, and knew it would be perfect for the drapes. It's a gray and white linen stripe, almost exactly the same shade as the wall color. We actually chose the wall color based on the fabric. They really look great, and I can't wait to see them up. I'll just have to hang them and hem the bottoms to finish up.
Here's a picture of the fabric from when we were choosing the paint color for the room.
I can't stand bare windows, so it's hard to believe I've been living without anything in this rooms since the summer. Can't wait!
We'll be hanging them the next time we see each other, which will be either tomorrow or Saturday. I absolutely can't wait.
I actually bought the fabric last April with plans to reupholster the green chair (which, man, I've almost had that thing for a year now). But it didn't have the right weight for upholstery. I still loved it, and knew it would be perfect for the drapes. It's a gray and white linen stripe, almost exactly the same shade as the wall color. We actually chose the wall color based on the fabric. They really look great, and I can't wait to see them up. I'll just have to hang them and hem the bottoms to finish up.
Here's a picture of the fabric from when we were choosing the paint color for the room.
I can't stand bare windows, so it's hard to believe I've been living without anything in this rooms since the summer. Can't wait!
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Thrifting anyone?
Garage sale season has started hot and heavy here, and we're taking advantage. We prefer estate sales and moving sales for a few reasons. We don't have to deal with looking through tons of baby stuff and clothes (the clothes at estate sales are usually fun to look at, actually), and there is a much greater chance of good furniture. Prices are generally a little higher, but you get what you pay for.
In the past couple of weeks, we've made some great small purchases. No furniture, although we found some awesome mid-century chairs at one sale. Too bad they were already sold.
The painting is from 79 and cost us $15. We dropped it off to be framed last week, and chose a flat front white frame. I can't wait to get it back and figure out where to put it.
I also couldn't resist the little troll like dude in the brown frame for around $7. We didn't notice a $2.99 written on the back in pencil before we bought it, so we definitely overpaid, but I love it $7 worth, so that's what matters, right?
At the same sale, I also got two enamel bangles and we picked up a Mark Twain paperback.
Then last week, we found a couple of moving sales with great sales.
I got this little horse for $1 to add to our menagerie.
And his friend the donkey, also a dollar. At the same sale, I got an old sil scarf for a buck.
Then we found a sale with all the books you could carry for a dollar, and took great advantage. I don't know how many we ended up with. But it was a LOT.
I'm excited to see more sales as the season goes on. And maybe find some dining furniture!
Speaking of dining furniture and thrifting, I'm still looking for inspiration.
I was kind of inspired by today's outfit.
I love turquoise and red. And I loved the way my brown work bag and gray purse worked with the color combo. So I wondered if a deep, deep teal or turquoise could work on the china cabinet.
But dude, I'm trying to tone this thing down. Turquoise is crazy right?
When I use a picture of the china cabinet in the Sherwin Williams color visualizer, the answer is a resounding YES. It looks awful. I am not thinking the color of my sweater of course. I am thinking a teal so dark it's almost black. But that's hard to do right. And if I pick that, I have no CLUE what to use in the back.
But I'm kind of loving this paper for the back.
I think it would look fab with the white chine in front. But Brett is unsure about painting it black. It's a hard decision. I don't want to mess it up again!
The shoes I'm wearing in the above picture were part of my Valentine's Day present from Brett. I LOVE them! My Toms collection is starting to get a little out of hand. We did Valentine's a little late due to work/travel/schedule, but it was worth the wait.
Other than that, as usual, we went with home related gifts.
I also got this bookend from the new CB2 Spring collection (LOVE!)
So we rearranged our books a bit. It really makes me smile!
Even before we did gifts though, when I got back from my work trip I found these on the kitchen counter. Even though I wouldn't see Brett for a few more days, it was nice to know he was thinking of me in the middle of the week.
Side note, I am falling in love with our kitchen all over again lately. Especially on days when it's really functioning and then it's clean, but the light that we get on weekend afternoons just makes me want to hang out in there.
For Brett, I got a print framed that I knew he would like. He collects Legos, new and vintage, and we display some of them in the office. So I thought he would like this print to tie that in. I really love it too, actually!
We moved the concert poster that was here, but ti's still in the room.
We also framed the card I gave him because we both liked it so much, and hung it in the stairway.
Which I also realized I never posted about. We've started hanging photos/prints/whatever in the stairway in black gallery frames. The plan is to eventually have the entire wall just covered with frames and stuff.
Hey look, we still have to figure out how to cut in up there!
It's going to be a slow process but we really like it so far!
In the past couple of weeks, we've made some great small purchases. No furniture, although we found some awesome mid-century chairs at one sale. Too bad they were already sold.
The painting is from 79 and cost us $15. We dropped it off to be framed last week, and chose a flat front white frame. I can't wait to get it back and figure out where to put it.
I also couldn't resist the little troll like dude in the brown frame for around $7. We didn't notice a $2.99 written on the back in pencil before we bought it, so we definitely overpaid, but I love it $7 worth, so that's what matters, right?
At the same sale, I also got two enamel bangles and we picked up a Mark Twain paperback.
Then last week, we found a couple of moving sales with great sales.
I got this little horse for $1 to add to our menagerie.
And his friend the donkey, also a dollar. At the same sale, I got an old sil scarf for a buck.
Then we found a sale with all the books you could carry for a dollar, and took great advantage. I don't know how many we ended up with. But it was a LOT.
I'm excited to see more sales as the season goes on. And maybe find some dining furniture!
Speaking of dining furniture and thrifting, I'm still looking for inspiration.
I was kind of inspired by today's outfit.
I love turquoise and red. And I loved the way my brown work bag and gray purse worked with the color combo. So I wondered if a deep, deep teal or turquoise could work on the china cabinet.
But dude, I'm trying to tone this thing down. Turquoise is crazy right?
When I use a picture of the china cabinet in the Sherwin Williams color visualizer, the answer is a resounding YES. It looks awful. I am not thinking the color of my sweater of course. I am thinking a teal so dark it's almost black. But that's hard to do right. And if I pick that, I have no CLUE what to use in the back.
But I'm kind of loving this paper for the back.
I think it would look fab with the white chine in front. But Brett is unsure about painting it black. It's a hard decision. I don't want to mess it up again!
The shoes I'm wearing in the above picture were part of my Valentine's Day present from Brett. I LOVE them! My Toms collection is starting to get a little out of hand. We did Valentine's a little late due to work/travel/schedule, but it was worth the wait.
Other than that, as usual, we went with home related gifts.
I also got this bookend from the new CB2 Spring collection (LOVE!)
So we rearranged our books a bit. It really makes me smile!
Even before we did gifts though, when I got back from my work trip I found these on the kitchen counter. Even though I wouldn't see Brett for a few more days, it was nice to know he was thinking of me in the middle of the week.
Side note, I am falling in love with our kitchen all over again lately. Especially on days when it's really functioning and then it's clean, but the light that we get on weekend afternoons just makes me want to hang out in there.
For Brett, I got a print framed that I knew he would like. He collects Legos, new and vintage, and we display some of them in the office. So I thought he would like this print to tie that in. I really love it too, actually!
We moved the concert poster that was here, but ti's still in the room.
We also framed the card I gave him because we both liked it so much, and hung it in the stairway.
Which I also realized I never posted about. We've started hanging photos/prints/whatever in the stairway in black gallery frames. The plan is to eventually have the entire wall just covered with frames and stuff.
Hey look, we still have to figure out how to cut in up there!
It's going to be a slow process but we really like it so far!
Friday, February 11, 2011
Thank you Thomas Edison, for pretty much everything we enjoy today.
But most of all, for inspiring me to care about science, math, and how things work.
Happy Birthday.
Image from the fantastic blog Letters to Dead People
Monday, January 24, 2011
Gray and White
It's no secret that gray is my favorite color (I-i-i felt so symbolic yesterday).
Anyone? Anyone?
But I love, love, LOVE the combo of gray and white. Take gray of pretty much any shade, put it next to something white, and I'll swoon. There are a few examples of this in our house already. Gray walls and white trim, obviously. A charcoal piece of fabric framed in a white frame. Charcoal gray glass tiles surrounded by white subway tile (both set off with medium gray grout).
When we moved in almost two years ago, the second room we made over was our bedroom. The first was the guest bathroom, which we've already completely redone again. Honestly, we made some decisions in our bedroom that we wouldn't make again. But this is a much bigger room, and these decisions involve a lot more expense. So we're going to work with them.
We do love the paint color we chose, truly. It's what started the color inspiration for our entire house. So I'll give us an A+ on that. But the trim color is not so great. I would have already redone it if not for the French doors. And I'll eventually do it anyway. I originally chose a muslin color when we thought the common rooms were going to be a tan/brown. But now I want all the trim to be BM Simply White. It's going to be a bitch of a job.
The furniture? Meh. The style is okay. We wouldn't choose it today, but it's not bad. We're just not into matchy matchy anymore. We would not buy a matching set today, and we would rather have a medium wood tone. And really, we would SO rather have smaller scale furniture. But the biggest mistake by far was the brand. We bought from Ashley Furniture, and we are SO unhappy with the quality. We have known people who had Ashley stuff they were happy with (not heirloom quality, but we didn't expect that). But I would NEVER buy anything from there that had moving parts. Our drawers are awful. We've had to replace the tracks on two drawers in a year, and several won't stay shut.
We'll be replacing this a lot sooner than if we'd just saved a little more, and went with something higher quality. Or even better, waited a little longer and bought estate pieces or shopped in Houston where we had better, and cheaper, options.
I also chose bedding, art, accessories, etc. that I liked at the time, but looking back they just aren't my style. I do like certain pieces of course, but the whole neutral earth tones palette just wasn't working for me anymore.
So with some Christmas money, thanks to the grandparents, I started what will be a slow process: making our bedroom look like a part of the rest of our house. First on the agenda was injecting some gray and white, in the way of bedding.
With my money and a West Elm coupon code burning a hole in my pocket, I gambled on whether I should wait for the Spring Collection, or go ahead and buy on sale. I decided to take a chance and wait, and it paid off.
I got the new Stripe Duvet Cover with Euro Shams. And we also got the Flame Stitch Blanket (it's hard to navigate to their blankets, even though they have a couple. Put blanket in the search bar).
Love that texture. And you know I'm a sucker for anything chevron.
That first pic was taken with my phone. Here's a truer to color, and truer to life picture of how the bed looks.
Come on, like you all have perfectly made beds with throw pillows every day? We both love how much BRIGHTER the room looks from this change alone. It's so refreshing and just feels cleaner.
I do plan on covering a couple of throw pillows, but I have to choose fabric first. My instinct is very graphic, black and white, but then I think I should bring in some very bright color. Like a flame red, the color of my dutch oven? I love the contrast of the color with gray/blue gray.
(making a big pot of red beans and rice this weekend. it means the beginning of Mardi Gras in our house)
Gray and White is really the perfect color scheme, I'm convinced. I've yet to find a spot it doesn't look good in. I have gray and white curtains in our office. A gray and white letterpress print in the upstairs bathroom. And now this bedding.
But there comes a point where an obsession can go to far, and I think I've reached it.
Meet Moe. Short for Mowgli, his shelter name. He's about three months, or a little older. He's got long hair that we think will stick around, and blue gray eyes that we think will go away with age.
He has two modes: running around like an insane wild man, or snuggling up as close to one of us as he can be. We already like him very much (you might even say love) after knowing him just two weeks. Charlie, our tuxedo cat, alternates between playing with him and ignoring him, and Sadie's coming around. All in all, he's a great addition to our family.
Of course, we didn't pick him based only on the fact that he matched our house. But it didn't hurt.
Anyone? Anyone?
But I love, love, LOVE the combo of gray and white. Take gray of pretty much any shade, put it next to something white, and I'll swoon. There are a few examples of this in our house already. Gray walls and white trim, obviously. A charcoal piece of fabric framed in a white frame. Charcoal gray glass tiles surrounded by white subway tile (both set off with medium gray grout).
When we moved in almost two years ago, the second room we made over was our bedroom. The first was the guest bathroom, which we've already completely redone again. Honestly, we made some decisions in our bedroom that we wouldn't make again. But this is a much bigger room, and these decisions involve a lot more expense. So we're going to work with them.
We do love the paint color we chose, truly. It's what started the color inspiration for our entire house. So I'll give us an A+ on that. But the trim color is not so great. I would have already redone it if not for the French doors. And I'll eventually do it anyway. I originally chose a muslin color when we thought the common rooms were going to be a tan/brown. But now I want all the trim to be BM Simply White. It's going to be a bitch of a job.
The furniture? Meh. The style is okay. We wouldn't choose it today, but it's not bad. We're just not into matchy matchy anymore. We would not buy a matching set today, and we would rather have a medium wood tone. And really, we would SO rather have smaller scale furniture. But the biggest mistake by far was the brand. We bought from Ashley Furniture, and we are SO unhappy with the quality. We have known people who had Ashley stuff they were happy with (not heirloom quality, but we didn't expect that). But I would NEVER buy anything from there that had moving parts. Our drawers are awful. We've had to replace the tracks on two drawers in a year, and several won't stay shut.
We'll be replacing this a lot sooner than if we'd just saved a little more, and went with something higher quality. Or even better, waited a little longer and bought estate pieces or shopped in Houston where we had better, and cheaper, options.
I also chose bedding, art, accessories, etc. that I liked at the time, but looking back they just aren't my style. I do like certain pieces of course, but the whole neutral earth tones palette just wasn't working for me anymore.
So with some Christmas money, thanks to the grandparents, I started what will be a slow process: making our bedroom look like a part of the rest of our house. First on the agenda was injecting some gray and white, in the way of bedding.
With my money and a West Elm coupon code burning a hole in my pocket, I gambled on whether I should wait for the Spring Collection, or go ahead and buy on sale. I decided to take a chance and wait, and it paid off.
I got the new Stripe Duvet Cover with Euro Shams. And we also got the Flame Stitch Blanket (it's hard to navigate to their blankets, even though they have a couple. Put blanket in the search bar).
Love that texture. And you know I'm a sucker for anything chevron.
That first pic was taken with my phone. Here's a truer to color, and truer to life picture of how the bed looks.
Come on, like you all have perfectly made beds with throw pillows every day? We both love how much BRIGHTER the room looks from this change alone. It's so refreshing and just feels cleaner.
I do plan on covering a couple of throw pillows, but I have to choose fabric first. My instinct is very graphic, black and white, but then I think I should bring in some very bright color. Like a flame red, the color of my dutch oven? I love the contrast of the color with gray/blue gray.
(making a big pot of red beans and rice this weekend. it means the beginning of Mardi Gras in our house)
Gray and White is really the perfect color scheme, I'm convinced. I've yet to find a spot it doesn't look good in. I have gray and white curtains in our office. A gray and white letterpress print in the upstairs bathroom. And now this bedding.
But there comes a point where an obsession can go to far, and I think I've reached it.
Meet Moe. Short for Mowgli, his shelter name. He's about three months, or a little older. He's got long hair that we think will stick around, and blue gray eyes that we think will go away with age.
He has two modes: running around like an insane wild man, or snuggling up as close to one of us as he can be. We already like him very much (you might even say love) after knowing him just two weeks. Charlie, our tuxedo cat, alternates between playing with him and ignoring him, and Sadie's coming around. All in all, he's a great addition to our family.
Of course, we didn't pick him based only on the fact that he matched our house. But it didn't hurt.
Christmas 2010
Since it's been exactly a month since Christmas Eve, it's probably about time to post about what I got for Christmas, right?
Right.
Well, I was majorly spoiled, all around. First, from family.
My parents started it off with this insanely gorgeous bag. This picture does NOT do it justice at all.
They had it custom sized for the laptop I'm getting in a couple of weeks (for work, nothing exciting, but if I have to carry it home every day, I might as well carry it in something beautiful), and I LOVE it so much. It might be the most beautiful (fashion related) item I've ever owned.
Also fashion related, I got a pair of Tretorn for J.Crew Citron canvas sneakers. No pictures, because they're sold out, but they're pretty awesome. Definitely an attention getter.
My brother and SIL got us the new Donkey Kong Country for Wii. This is a sentimental gift for us, because I have plenty of fond memories of playing the original with my brother as a kid.
Also from my parents, you've seen a sneak peek but here she is in here glory.
I hope to show you all the organizational goodies inside if I can remember to take pictures. We fit everything in all of the drawers from the cabinet we replaced and both towers in like half of this thing. I love it. The red accent is exactly what we needed to wake up the room. I can't WAIT until we have a) curtains, b) white shelving on either side of the fireplace and c) a chair that's been reupholstered in the charcoal and white chevron fabric I bought and am 100% obsessed with.
It will be AWESOME.
My in-laws got me a gorgeous J.Crew sweater. I've been wearing it like twice a week! It's so soft and the smoothest knit. They also got me some lotion and soap, and various other bits and bobs.
My aunt and uncle were so thoughtful, getting us several owls (favorite below, made of a found rock!) and a giftcard to Lowe's, and one set of grandparents got me a beautiful scarf.
But then, there's my husband. He, without a doubt, rocked it.
First, I got Casablanca on DVD in my stocking. It's one of his favorites, and I've never seen it. I guess he just couldn't live with that anymore. I also got some hard candy to fuel my sugar addiction.
But there were four differently sized boxes under the tree for me. I honestly thought it was new bedding. It was the only thing I could think of that would be remotely the right size, and come in different sized boxes.
But not, the different sizes were just to throw me off.
I got four (four!) beautifully framed Sharon Montrose prints. Guys, my husband and I don't always see eye to eye on art. I know this would not have been his first choice, to say the least. It makes it that much more thoughtful that he chose something that I would love SO MUCH. He's a keeper, dudes.
It's really difficult to photograph photographs and do them justice.
So here are his choices in all their glory.
A silkie chicken, to go with my extremely well loved little chicken dish I keep by the sink. Perfect match.
A piglet, who obviously is smiling. Look at his little tail!
A little innocent lamb. Such a lovely pose.
And although my favorite changes almost daily, the most consistent has got to be this little porcupine. JUST LOOK. I want a real life one. Now.
This was a lovely way to bring the (not so) subtle animal theme we have going into our living room. Our kitchen almost screams it, our guest room has started to whisper it, and our upstairs bathroom is definitely in on the act. Now our living room fits right in to the menagerie.
A post on what I got for Brett is coming up. I'm pretty proud of it, if I do say so myself (it's also home related. What can I say, we're well matched in terms of house crazy).
Right.
Well, I was majorly spoiled, all around. First, from family.
My parents started it off with this insanely gorgeous bag. This picture does NOT do it justice at all.
They had it custom sized for the laptop I'm getting in a couple of weeks (for work, nothing exciting, but if I have to carry it home every day, I might as well carry it in something beautiful), and I LOVE it so much. It might be the most beautiful (fashion related) item I've ever owned.
Also fashion related, I got a pair of Tretorn for J.Crew Citron canvas sneakers. No pictures, because they're sold out, but they're pretty awesome. Definitely an attention getter.
My brother and SIL got us the new Donkey Kong Country for Wii. This is a sentimental gift for us, because I have plenty of fond memories of playing the original with my brother as a kid.
Also from my parents, you've seen a sneak peek but here she is in here glory.
I hope to show you all the organizational goodies inside if I can remember to take pictures. We fit everything in all of the drawers from the cabinet we replaced and both towers in like half of this thing. I love it. The red accent is exactly what we needed to wake up the room. I can't WAIT until we have a) curtains, b) white shelving on either side of the fireplace and c) a chair that's been reupholstered in the charcoal and white chevron fabric I bought and am 100% obsessed with.
It will be AWESOME.
My in-laws got me a gorgeous J.Crew sweater. I've been wearing it like twice a week! It's so soft and the smoothest knit. They also got me some lotion and soap, and various other bits and bobs.
My aunt and uncle were so thoughtful, getting us several owls (favorite below, made of a found rock!) and a giftcard to Lowe's, and one set of grandparents got me a beautiful scarf.
But then, there's my husband. He, without a doubt, rocked it.
First, I got Casablanca on DVD in my stocking. It's one of his favorites, and I've never seen it. I guess he just couldn't live with that anymore. I also got some hard candy to fuel my sugar addiction.
But there were four differently sized boxes under the tree for me. I honestly thought it was new bedding. It was the only thing I could think of that would be remotely the right size, and come in different sized boxes.
But not, the different sizes were just to throw me off.
I got four (four!) beautifully framed Sharon Montrose prints. Guys, my husband and I don't always see eye to eye on art. I know this would not have been his first choice, to say the least. It makes it that much more thoughtful that he chose something that I would love SO MUCH. He's a keeper, dudes.
It's really difficult to photograph photographs and do them justice.
So here are his choices in all their glory.
A silkie chicken, to go with my extremely well loved little chicken dish I keep by the sink. Perfect match.
A piglet, who obviously is smiling. Look at his little tail!
A little innocent lamb. Such a lovely pose.
And although my favorite changes almost daily, the most consistent has got to be this little porcupine. JUST LOOK. I want a real life one. Now.
This was a lovely way to bring the (not so) subtle animal theme we have going into our living room. Our kitchen almost screams it, our guest room has started to whisper it, and our upstairs bathroom is definitely in on the act. Now our living room fits right in to the menagerie.
A post on what I got for Brett is coming up. I'm pretty proud of it, if I do say so myself (it's also home related. What can I say, we're well matched in terms of house crazy).
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Hi
Let's ignore the fact that it's been a month and a half since I last posted. Okay?
Okay.
Life got busy. I got busy. Excuses, excuses. Let's jump in.
I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas! The weekend before the big day, I got to host our family Christmas for the first time ever. It was wonderful to have my parents, brother, and sister in law in our home for some family time and a wonderful meal.
And we did a great job hosting if I do say so myself.
We served a traditional-ish meal of fried turkey, turnip greens, sweet potato casserole, English peas (a must passed down from my great grandmother for any holiday gathering), roasted potatoes and carrots, and cornbread (using Brett's great grandmother's pan and recipe). We also had Christmas candy and derby pie (regular and gluten free) to finish it off.
The house was decked out for a celebration!
My favorite ornament acquired this year, the stegosaurus:
We even got our sheepskin in on the action.
(Stack of library book are not a Christmas decoration :) )
But my favorite, favorite thing about having people over for a Christmas meal: I get to do a Christmas table!
Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!
I started with some black and white fabric I've been wanting to use forever, and some charcoal gray chargers I got on clearance for $1 each at Z Gallerie.
The original look was supposed to be black, white, and brass. With maybe some glittery thrown in. My original flower plan was white poinsettias. But then I realized I really wanted some red thrown in. So I did that with flowers, candles, and the napkins.
The brass was brought in using my vintage candlestick collection (never pay over 50 cents people) and a couple of containers for flowers bought at Goodwill (also 50 cents each). Then I added our china and an assortment of red and white tulips and daisies, along with some green mini hydrangea, and it was finished.
The candles are all from Target. They offer these column candles in a few different colors every season, and I always grab a few. My gray ones (on the mantle in an above pic) are my favorite. They look so much nicer than tapers to me.
The napkin fold came from Martha Stewart Weddings, and was super duper easy.
I thought it all turned out beautiful, but still fun and not too stuffy? Maybe?
The only other project I've really been working on is this one.
I've still got to stain the bottom but the weather is not cooperating. We are having a freakishly cold winter! (cue tons of people laughing at my complaints) But I can't use water based stain if it's going to be under 35F within 24 hours, or if it's going to rain anytime soon. Plus it's, you know, kind of a busy time of year. I'll finish it sometime.
I'll do a post with nicer pictures soon, but here's a sneak peek of a couple of my Christmas presents. I took these with my phone in the dark.
Oh yes, oh yes that is a red, metal Ikea cabinet.
And that is a photograph from the one and only Sharon Montrose!!!!!!!!!! And those are picture hangers for three more photographs!!!!!!!
I'm way spoiled.
Okay.
Life got busy. I got busy. Excuses, excuses. Let's jump in.
I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas! The weekend before the big day, I got to host our family Christmas for the first time ever. It was wonderful to have my parents, brother, and sister in law in our home for some family time and a wonderful meal.
And we did a great job hosting if I do say so myself.
We served a traditional-ish meal of fried turkey, turnip greens, sweet potato casserole, English peas (a must passed down from my great grandmother for any holiday gathering), roasted potatoes and carrots, and cornbread (using Brett's great grandmother's pan and recipe). We also had Christmas candy and derby pie (regular and gluten free) to finish it off.
The house was decked out for a celebration!
My favorite ornament acquired this year, the stegosaurus:
We even got our sheepskin in on the action.
(Stack of library book are not a Christmas decoration :) )
But my favorite, favorite thing about having people over for a Christmas meal: I get to do a Christmas table!
Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!
I started with some black and white fabric I've been wanting to use forever, and some charcoal gray chargers I got on clearance for $1 each at Z Gallerie.
The original look was supposed to be black, white, and brass. With maybe some glittery thrown in. My original flower plan was white poinsettias. But then I realized I really wanted some red thrown in. So I did that with flowers, candles, and the napkins.
The brass was brought in using my vintage candlestick collection (never pay over 50 cents people) and a couple of containers for flowers bought at Goodwill (also 50 cents each). Then I added our china and an assortment of red and white tulips and daisies, along with some green mini hydrangea, and it was finished.
The candles are all from Target. They offer these column candles in a few different colors every season, and I always grab a few. My gray ones (on the mantle in an above pic) are my favorite. They look so much nicer than tapers to me.
The napkin fold came from Martha Stewart Weddings, and was super duper easy.
I thought it all turned out beautiful, but still fun and not too stuffy? Maybe?
The only other project I've really been working on is this one.
I've still got to stain the bottom but the weather is not cooperating. We are having a freakishly cold winter! (cue tons of people laughing at my complaints) But I can't use water based stain if it's going to be under 35F within 24 hours, or if it's going to rain anytime soon. Plus it's, you know, kind of a busy time of year. I'll finish it sometime.
I'll do a post with nicer pictures soon, but here's a sneak peek of a couple of my Christmas presents. I took these with my phone in the dark.
Oh yes, oh yes that is a red, metal Ikea cabinet.
And that is a photograph from the one and only Sharon Montrose!!!!!!!!!! And those are picture hangers for three more photographs!!!!!!!
I'm way spoiled.
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Ready for Thanksgiving?
We are!
Thanksgiving means a lot of planning for me, and this year, I'm bound and determined to get some of my favorites. Combine my uncertainty with the fact that my husband won't get to come with me for Thanksgiving at all, and we were inspired to have a practice session on Sunday.
I made a little bit of baked ham with maple glaze for the hubs, but I wasn't interested. What I wanted was the casseroles. I'm a huge nut for my grandmother's potato casserole. I call it hers, because she's been making it since I was a little girl. But it's really just the recipe on the bag of Ore-Ids Hash Browns. She switches the green onions out for a little bit of finely diced white onion, and trust me, this stuff is delicious.
I also really want to be able to eat my mom's broccoli casserole, straight from the pages of every Southern girl's favorite cookbook, Bell's Best (recipe below). For both of these recipes, most of the ingredients are totally fine for me. Sour cream, cheddar cheese, butter, onions, broccoli, all gluten free of course. Two suspects, the Ore Ida hash browns and the Cheez Whiz, were also thankfully GF. Ore Ida actually has a list of all gluten free products on their website, here. Corn Flakes aren't gluten free, but I could just use some Glutino crackers as a topping instead.
I had one problem with both recipes. Cream soup. Check and can of Campbell's Cream soup and you'll find wheat flour listed as an ingredient, so I needed to find an alternative. I had looked for GF cream soups before, with no luck. But on my latest trip to Whole Foods, I did a happy dance, called my grandma excitedly, and told her we were in the clear. They had GF Cream of Mushroom Soup! I bought like 6 cans to take for our huge Thanksgiving. I thought we had found our solution.
Then Sunday, when I opened the first can for my potato casserole? Craaaaaaaaaaap. It wasn't condensed. It wasn't condensed! Which would make my casserole way too liquidy. Without thinking, I went ahead and dumped both cans in the bowl. Oops!
I had a soupy mess on my hands. Hmmmmmmmm. So I added a few tablespoons of cornstarch to thicken (which probably didn't really help, honestly). And I added tons of extra cheese to help bind it together. When it felt like almost the right texture, I dumped the whole thing in my largest casserole dish, topped it with crushed, buttered gluten free crackers, and popped it in the oven.
Ingredients
* 1 Bag Ore Ida Country Style Hash Browns
* 2 Can(s) Gluten Free Cream of Mushroom Soup (modified)
* 2 Cup(s) SOUR CREAM
* 1/2 Teaspoon(s) SALT
* 4 Cup(s) CHEDDAR CHEESE shredded (modified)
* 1/2 Cup(s) White ONIONS sliced (modified)
* 1/2 Teaspoon(s) BLACK PEPPER ground (modified)
* 1 box plain Glutino crackers, crushed (modified)
* 1/4 Cup(s) BUTTER melted
Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Coat 4 1/2 quart casserole dish with butter or spray (or don't, it's not super necessary. Side note: the original recipe calls for a 13x9. B.S. No way will it fit. You need a honking casserole for this sucker)
2. In a large bowl, whisk together soup, sour cream, salt and pepper. Stir in cheese, onion and Hash Browns until well mixed. Spoon evenly into baking dish.
3. In a large ziploc bowl, shake together crackers and butter. Sprinkle evenly on top of Hash Brown mixture.
4. Bake uncovered for about 1 hour (modified from original!), or until hot and bubbly. Allow to rest for 5 minutes before serving. Eat your heart out.
Next, I tackled the broccoli casserole. I was better prepared for the soup shocker, so I planned ahead a little. Instead of the two cans the recipe called for, I used only one. And instead of using the entire can, I spooned out the thicker globs and left the thin, watery stuff out.
Pre-cooking, the consistency of this casserole was much closer to how I thought it should be. But the lack of thickening agents from the soup just made it never come together. I cooked it. And cooked it. And cooked it. I kept the rest of our lunch warm while I baked it an extra 25 minutes. Then I let it bake while we ate our lunch. Then I let it bake a little longer. We finally took it out just shy of two hours, bubbly and brown on top but still jiggly as ever. It did set a little as it cooled, but it never got as thick as it needed to. It tasted just fine (not as good as my mom's of course, but nothing ever will), but it was more soupy than casserole-y.
But I've found a new solution for next Thursday, and I think it will work much better for casseroles! I'm going to use the condensed soup recipes from Adventures of a Gluten Free Mom. I think this texture will turn out much better.
Here's the Broccoli Casserole Recipe, p. 338 in Bell's Best.
1 large onion
1 stalk celery
1/2 c. mushrooms
1 jar Cheez Whiz (the big jar)
2 cans cream of mushroom soup (I used 3/4 of a can of non-condensed, didn't turn out so hot though. I'll make two batches of the recipe linked above next time)
1 c. cooked rice (we used brown, but either white or brown is fine)
1 box chopped broccoli, cooked.
Saute onion, celery, mushrooms in 2 Tbsp butter. (Honestly, I skipped this. I just melted a little butter and mixed the onion, celery and mushrooms in it in a bowl. I don't think I've ever seen my mom do this either) Add soup, Cheez Whiz, rice, and drained broccoli. Place in a casserole dish and cook at 350 for 10-15 minutes (lies! Even following this recipe to the exact letter, it has never taken less than 45 minutes to get done. Cook it at whatever temperature you have other things going, until the top is brown and delicious looking, and the middle is barely jiggly)
Honestly, these recipes may not look like much. Cheez whiz? Hash browns topped with crackers? But they're home to me. I'll also be helping to make the turkeys (smoke, fried, and baked, thank you), ham, and vegetables. Plus I'm preparing the sweet potato casserole, from scratch, with a too good for words pecan topping. I'll also be making a little pan of gluten free stuffing, some GF rolls, and a GF pecan pie. So I won't be going hungry. But the two recipes here are the two that mean Thanksgiving for me. They bring back years of holiday meals and family gatherings. And I'm so happy that I'll get to eat them this year.
If you want a chance to win several fabulous prizes, including a new kitchen-aid mixer, you can make a gluten free dish and blog about it, and post a link on this post at Gluten Free Girl and the Chef. It's way easier than you think, I promise!
Thanksgiving means a lot of planning for me, and this year, I'm bound and determined to get some of my favorites. Combine my uncertainty with the fact that my husband won't get to come with me for Thanksgiving at all, and we were inspired to have a practice session on Sunday.
I made a little bit of baked ham with maple glaze for the hubs, but I wasn't interested. What I wanted was the casseroles. I'm a huge nut for my grandmother's potato casserole. I call it hers, because she's been making it since I was a little girl. But it's really just the recipe on the bag of Ore-Ids Hash Browns. She switches the green onions out for a little bit of finely diced white onion, and trust me, this stuff is delicious.
I also really want to be able to eat my mom's broccoli casserole, straight from the pages of every Southern girl's favorite cookbook, Bell's Best (recipe below). For both of these recipes, most of the ingredients are totally fine for me. Sour cream, cheddar cheese, butter, onions, broccoli, all gluten free of course. Two suspects, the Ore Ida hash browns and the Cheez Whiz, were also thankfully GF. Ore Ida actually has a list of all gluten free products on their website, here. Corn Flakes aren't gluten free, but I could just use some Glutino crackers as a topping instead.
I had one problem with both recipes. Cream soup. Check and can of Campbell's Cream soup and you'll find wheat flour listed as an ingredient, so I needed to find an alternative. I had looked for GF cream soups before, with no luck. But on my latest trip to Whole Foods, I did a happy dance, called my grandma excitedly, and told her we were in the clear. They had GF Cream of Mushroom Soup! I bought like 6 cans to take for our huge Thanksgiving. I thought we had found our solution.
Then Sunday, when I opened the first can for my potato casserole? Craaaaaaaaaaap. It wasn't condensed. It wasn't condensed! Which would make my casserole way too liquidy. Without thinking, I went ahead and dumped both cans in the bowl. Oops!
I had a soupy mess on my hands. Hmmmmmmmm. So I added a few tablespoons of cornstarch to thicken (which probably didn't really help, honestly). And I added tons of extra cheese to help bind it together. When it felt like almost the right texture, I dumped the whole thing in my largest casserole dish, topped it with crushed, buttered gluten free crackers, and popped it in the oven.
Ingredients
* 1 Bag Ore Ida Country Style Hash Browns
* 2 Can(s) Gluten Free Cream of Mushroom Soup (modified)
* 2 Cup(s) SOUR CREAM
* 1/2 Teaspoon(s) SALT
* 4 Cup(s) CHEDDAR CHEESE shredded (modified)
* 1/2 Cup(s) White ONIONS sliced (modified)
* 1/2 Teaspoon(s) BLACK PEPPER ground (modified)
* 1 box plain Glutino crackers, crushed (modified)
* 1/4 Cup(s) BUTTER melted
Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Coat 4 1/2 quart casserole dish with butter or spray (or don't, it's not super necessary. Side note: the original recipe calls for a 13x9. B.S. No way will it fit. You need a honking casserole for this sucker)
2. In a large bowl, whisk together soup, sour cream, salt and pepper. Stir in cheese, onion and Hash Browns until well mixed. Spoon evenly into baking dish.
3. In a large ziploc bowl, shake together crackers and butter. Sprinkle evenly on top of Hash Brown mixture.
4. Bake uncovered for about 1 hour (modified from original!), or until hot and bubbly. Allow to rest for 5 minutes before serving. Eat your heart out.
Next, I tackled the broccoli casserole. I was better prepared for the soup shocker, so I planned ahead a little. Instead of the two cans the recipe called for, I used only one. And instead of using the entire can, I spooned out the thicker globs and left the thin, watery stuff out.
Pre-cooking, the consistency of this casserole was much closer to how I thought it should be. But the lack of thickening agents from the soup just made it never come together. I cooked it. And cooked it. And cooked it. I kept the rest of our lunch warm while I baked it an extra 25 minutes. Then I let it bake while we ate our lunch. Then I let it bake a little longer. We finally took it out just shy of two hours, bubbly and brown on top but still jiggly as ever. It did set a little as it cooled, but it never got as thick as it needed to. It tasted just fine (not as good as my mom's of course, but nothing ever will), but it was more soupy than casserole-y.
But I've found a new solution for next Thursday, and I think it will work much better for casseroles! I'm going to use the condensed soup recipes from Adventures of a Gluten Free Mom. I think this texture will turn out much better.
Here's the Broccoli Casserole Recipe, p. 338 in Bell's Best.
1 large onion
1 stalk celery
1/2 c. mushrooms
1 jar Cheez Whiz (the big jar)
2 cans cream of mushroom soup (I used 3/4 of a can of non-condensed, didn't turn out so hot though. I'll make two batches of the recipe linked above next time)
1 c. cooked rice (we used brown, but either white or brown is fine)
1 box chopped broccoli, cooked.
Saute onion, celery, mushrooms in 2 Tbsp butter. (Honestly, I skipped this. I just melted a little butter and mixed the onion, celery and mushrooms in it in a bowl. I don't think I've ever seen my mom do this either) Add soup, Cheez Whiz, rice, and drained broccoli. Place in a casserole dish and cook at 350 for 10-15 minutes (lies! Even following this recipe to the exact letter, it has never taken less than 45 minutes to get done. Cook it at whatever temperature you have other things going, until the top is brown and delicious looking, and the middle is barely jiggly)
Honestly, these recipes may not look like much. Cheez whiz? Hash browns topped with crackers? But they're home to me. I'll also be helping to make the turkeys (smoke, fried, and baked, thank you), ham, and vegetables. Plus I'm preparing the sweet potato casserole, from scratch, with a too good for words pecan topping. I'll also be making a little pan of gluten free stuffing, some GF rolls, and a GF pecan pie. So I won't be going hungry. But the two recipes here are the two that mean Thanksgiving for me. They bring back years of holiday meals and family gatherings. And I'm so happy that I'll get to eat them this year.
If you want a chance to win several fabulous prizes, including a new kitchen-aid mixer, you can make a gluten free dish and blog about it, and post a link on this post at Gluten Free Girl and the Chef. It's way easier than you think, I promise!
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Hi there
I have a bunch of random things kicking around to post, so here's a mish mash of things.
First, the fall cure update. When I started, I loved the concept of this year's cure. At 20 minutes a day, it's perfect for us working stiffs, right?
I didn't think about the fact that I wasn't going to be home over a quarter of the days of the cure! When I'm in a hotel Monday through Wednesday, cleaning, buying flowers, and other 20 minute tasks aren't happening. So they've been pushed and I'm behind.
But I'm doing pretty well considering. I'm only a couple of days behind. I still need to clean a room this week, clean out my medicine cabinet, and hang a piece of artwork. I stopped on the way home from work today (my first day in my own city this week!) and got some flowers.
I decided to go with another bunch of football mums. The first ones I got, three weeks ago, lasted until today. They were still okay, and probably would have lasted another week if I had been home to change the water earlier this week. At $4.99 from Whole Foods, they're a great deal.
And dude, I'm sure you're tired of it, but hellooooooooo black fireplace. I love it so, so much. Best, decision ever.
I love this color. It totally matches the sweater I wore today, actually!
I used the greenery from last week's flowers-white hydrangeas. They were gorgeous, but not super cheap. And they started wilting almost instantly. These would be great for an event, like a dinner party. But not to enjoy for a week. Excuse the iphone pic, please.
The greenery was still in pretty good shape. I even had enough left over to brighten up my fruit bowl area.
One of my favorite days so far was one of the ones I dreaded most-the media fast. I spent an entire evening with no tv, no computer, no books, no radio. And I did it on a night when Brett was working, so I spent it completely alone. To keep it real, I was assisted by a traffic jam caused by an overturned 18 wheeler. So I got some extended radio time. I also stopped at the fabric store on the way home. But I got into the spirit of things starting at the fabric store. I left my iPhone in my purse, and made conversation with my fellow shoppers instead. It was a nice change of pace.
When I got home, I had dinner (at the table!) and just kind of stared around my living and dining room and thought about what I wanted to do. Some things will never happen (wood floors, ha!). Some things will happen really soon (curtains). And some things just hit me all of a sudden. It was really, really refreshing.
After dinner, I decided to hang a mirror that I've been meaning to hang since I painted the dining room. Like three months ago.
I almost definitely should have waited until Brett was home to help, but I did it without breaking the mirror! And it's level! Then I took a long bath with a yummy smelling candle and went to bed on time for once. I felt great the next day, and I had a new list of things to tackle.
So what is it that just hit me in the face, and so suddenly became clear?
This thing.
I hate it.
Like HATE it.
I kept quiet about it, because I thought Brett really wouldn't be happy with me saying I wanted to refinish it AGAIN. But I really, really hate it. So I secretly wished I could paint it again and started thinking about what I should back it with.
Then a few days later, a miracle happened! I was sweeping the dining room and Brett was wiping off the table, and he said, "I hate that china cabinet." I think he was so confused when I started grinning. He doesn't hate the cookie monster color with my passion, but he also doesn't like it. What he hates is the flowery paper backing. And I honestly can't blame him. It's just way, way, way too much. Way too much.
So we have to decide what color we want to paint it. We're considering mixing the half quart of blue that we have left with some black and making something closer to the blue-black we wanted in the first place. But I'm also considering just plain black, or, of course, gray. Charcoal this time? We're really not into white, but suggestions are welcome.
For the backing, I'm loving this from Paper Source.
But I am kind of in love with the whimsical idea of this utensil print.
And then there's the Marimekko Frekvennssi Wallpaper, and of course, my dream, Schumacher's Birds and Butterflies Wallcovering, but it's way too pricey for this project.
I'm really obsessing over the dining room lately. I think we've picked out a table, pending seeing the color in person to see if I think it will clash with our floors or not.
Sure, it's basic, nothing fancy. But the clean lines, the solid wood, and the natural finish has me thinking this could be our table four years to come.
But I am set on dining chairs. I've decided. I haven't let my husband in on this decision, but it's okay because I'm the decider, like George W. Bush. I'm wearing the Decision Pants right now.
Our eventual dining chairs are going to be Wishbone Chairs. And even if I'll feel bad, and wish I could find vintage ones, they're going to be knockoffs. The one pictured above is $960. For a single chair. Or $5800 for six. Okay? I can't afford it. InMod sells a knockoff for just $269. The top rail isn't one piece of bentwood. And you know what? That's not worth 700 bucks to me. Urban Home used to sell a version for just $79. SEVENTY NINE DOLLARS! But it seems it's no longer available. My plan is to buy one chair at a time until I have the number I need (8?). I know this is a pretty stupid plan. I know.
Now, I'll wrap things up and go to bed. I'm happy to be home and taking advantage of my own bed and my wonderful sheets (Target Home Organic Cotton. Get some). Hope everyone is having as wonderful a time as I am tonight!
First, the fall cure update. When I started, I loved the concept of this year's cure. At 20 minutes a day, it's perfect for us working stiffs, right?
I didn't think about the fact that I wasn't going to be home over a quarter of the days of the cure! When I'm in a hotel Monday through Wednesday, cleaning, buying flowers, and other 20 minute tasks aren't happening. So they've been pushed and I'm behind.
But I'm doing pretty well considering. I'm only a couple of days behind. I still need to clean a room this week, clean out my medicine cabinet, and hang a piece of artwork. I stopped on the way home from work today (my first day in my own city this week!) and got some flowers.
I decided to go with another bunch of football mums. The first ones I got, three weeks ago, lasted until today. They were still okay, and probably would have lasted another week if I had been home to change the water earlier this week. At $4.99 from Whole Foods, they're a great deal.
And dude, I'm sure you're tired of it, but hellooooooooo black fireplace. I love it so, so much. Best, decision ever.
I love this color. It totally matches the sweater I wore today, actually!
I used the greenery from last week's flowers-white hydrangeas. They were gorgeous, but not super cheap. And they started wilting almost instantly. These would be great for an event, like a dinner party. But not to enjoy for a week. Excuse the iphone pic, please.
The greenery was still in pretty good shape. I even had enough left over to brighten up my fruit bowl area.
One of my favorite days so far was one of the ones I dreaded most-the media fast. I spent an entire evening with no tv, no computer, no books, no radio. And I did it on a night when Brett was working, so I spent it completely alone. To keep it real, I was assisted by a traffic jam caused by an overturned 18 wheeler. So I got some extended radio time. I also stopped at the fabric store on the way home. But I got into the spirit of things starting at the fabric store. I left my iPhone in my purse, and made conversation with my fellow shoppers instead. It was a nice change of pace.
When I got home, I had dinner (at the table!) and just kind of stared around my living and dining room and thought about what I wanted to do. Some things will never happen (wood floors, ha!). Some things will happen really soon (curtains). And some things just hit me all of a sudden. It was really, really refreshing.
After dinner, I decided to hang a mirror that I've been meaning to hang since I painted the dining room. Like three months ago.
I almost definitely should have waited until Brett was home to help, but I did it without breaking the mirror! And it's level! Then I took a long bath with a yummy smelling candle and went to bed on time for once. I felt great the next day, and I had a new list of things to tackle.
So what is it that just hit me in the face, and so suddenly became clear?
This thing.
I hate it.
Like HATE it.
I kept quiet about it, because I thought Brett really wouldn't be happy with me saying I wanted to refinish it AGAIN. But I really, really hate it. So I secretly wished I could paint it again and started thinking about what I should back it with.
Then a few days later, a miracle happened! I was sweeping the dining room and Brett was wiping off the table, and he said, "I hate that china cabinet." I think he was so confused when I started grinning. He doesn't hate the cookie monster color with my passion, but he also doesn't like it. What he hates is the flowery paper backing. And I honestly can't blame him. It's just way, way, way too much. Way too much.
So we have to decide what color we want to paint it. We're considering mixing the half quart of blue that we have left with some black and making something closer to the blue-black we wanted in the first place. But I'm also considering just plain black, or, of course, gray. Charcoal this time? We're really not into white, but suggestions are welcome.
For the backing, I'm loving this from Paper Source.
But I am kind of in love with the whimsical idea of this utensil print.
And then there's the Marimekko Frekvennssi Wallpaper, and of course, my dream, Schumacher's Birds and Butterflies Wallcovering, but it's way too pricey for this project.
I'm really obsessing over the dining room lately. I think we've picked out a table, pending seeing the color in person to see if I think it will clash with our floors or not.
Sure, it's basic, nothing fancy. But the clean lines, the solid wood, and the natural finish has me thinking this could be our table four years to come.
But I am set on dining chairs. I've decided. I haven't let my husband in on this decision, but it's okay because I'm the decider, like George W. Bush. I'm wearing the Decision Pants right now.
Our eventual dining chairs are going to be Wishbone Chairs. And even if I'll feel bad, and wish I could find vintage ones, they're going to be knockoffs. The one pictured above is $960. For a single chair. Or $5800 for six. Okay? I can't afford it. InMod sells a knockoff for just $269. The top rail isn't one piece of bentwood. And you know what? That's not worth 700 bucks to me. Urban Home used to sell a version for just $79. SEVENTY NINE DOLLARS! But it seems it's no longer available. My plan is to buy one chair at a time until I have the number I need (8?). I know this is a pretty stupid plan. I know.
Now, I'll wrap things up and go to bed. I'm happy to be home and taking advantage of my own bed and my wonderful sheets (Target Home Organic Cotton. Get some). Hope everyone is having as wonderful a time as I am tonight!
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