Snaps of the week....

Hope everyone is having a great week.  Here are a few random snaps that I took this week of some of the things I've gotten recently. I picked up these paper butterflies at a local consignment shop last week. I love the colors and shapes of these. They brighten up this wall and compliment the vintage paintings next to them.
 

These vintage textiles are so colorful and pretty. The pictures are hand stitched on flour sacks. I am framing all of these in floating frames like the one in the last picture. I love framing textiles especially ones that are this colorful in floating frames.

 

 

I'll give you an update on Operation Master Bathroom tomorrow and show you "the plan".  Until then, have a great day!

Operation Master Bathroom......

Happy Friday!  Ever since the fourth on Wednesday, I don't know what day it is.  I'm all messed up.  What I do know is that our Master Bathroom is completely gutted.  After patiently waiting for seven years, we are finally tackling this bathroom.  HH has painstakingly removed the walls, tile, cabinets, lighting, toilet and everything else in this room and now we are at the final layout stage.  Laying this bathroom out is a little tricky because I have that pedestal tub that I am determined to put in this bathroom.  The location of the shower is what we are going to finalize.  Once the last of the debris is cleared from the floor (Saturday) we are going to lay everything out and finalize our design.  After that, I will share with you what the plan is.  I've decided no vanity in this bathroom.  Instead I am going to use a table that I bought at a local antique store and use round sinks instead of rectangle sinks like I used in the girl's bathroom. Since there is no vanity, we are deciding on storage options for this bathroom. The old vanity was huge and the new table is shorter so I will have more wall space to work with which is a good thing.  We are contemplating built-in's around the shower but this could change depending on the final layout. The tub will be refinished  on-site once the plumbing is roughed in and flooring installed. I decided to go with the floor mount option on the tub faucet because I like the way it looks and it will be the best option for the location of the tub.  I have several lighting options in here but I will make the final decision after we put in some small windows on the back wall.  This will make a huge difference in this bathroom and I'm excited to see that change.  This weekend I will be getting tile samples for the floor and the shower.  I want to keep this classic so perhaps a hexagon tile on the floor and marble tile for the shower.  I'm keeping an open mind on this so we'll see what happens.  So, here are some pics of the before bathroom and some pictures of items I've already selected for this bathroom. 

Looking into the bathroom from the hallway..

Shower on the left.  The toilet is out of range but just to the left of where I am standing.  The empty space in the front is where the small Master Bedroom closet was.

What's to see here?  Nothing excpet that we are moving the plumbing and toilet to the other wall to the right.  We will also build a water closet for the toilet.

Sorry about the blur..  This is the only picture that I have of looking from the back of the bathroom to the front. 

So that's the before of this story.  Here is what I've picked out so far for this bathroom. 

This is the table that I bought for the vessel sinks.  I love the hand carved horse legs.

I'm happy with the sink faucet combo that I bought for the girl's bathroom so I bought the same combo for the Master Bathroom with the round sink instead.  I like the shape of this sink and purchased two of these for the table. 

And of course, I can't forget the entry doors to this bathroom that I am still working on.....So excited to see these beauties put in.

And so it begins.......

Happy 4th of July!!

Wishing all of you a very Happy 4th of July.   I have some random red white and blue inspired photos that are perfect for sharing on the 4th. May your celebrations be festive, your food be tasty and your friends a plenty. Speaking of food, this trifle recipe is easy, no bake and beautiful to boot! I'm in.  Enjoy!

photo and recipe:  Martha Stewart

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Cheers! 



Getting things done......

I took a few days last week to focus on getting some projects done that I've been wanting to do for a while. The first project I wanted to do was strip the doors that I got last year for my Master Bathroom. This is a messy and yucky job but it brings me that much closer to putting these doors in and that makes me happy.  After getting most of the old paint (many layers) off, I decided to wait until these were hung to decide if I want to paint them.  I like the patina of the wood on these and the bits of color left behind.  We need to repair and replace some glass and of course sand them, but for now I'm going to keep an open mind. Want to see the before and after?  Ok, here's the doors before:

 

And here's what they look like now......

 I also had a pair of chairs that I purchased a while back that I wanted to paint and re-upholster.  These chairs were not pretty at first, but I liked their shape and scale so I bought the pair with the vision of painting them black and re-upholstering them in a graphic pattern. I really like the way these turned out.  I even left the gold 80's rollers on them. These are the kind of chairs you can put in any room and they work.  I decided to put them in Tatiana's room for now so she can try them out.  Here's what the chairs looked like before:

And here's what they look like now........

 

I also moved some things around and brought in some items to make it feel more like summer.  I loved this rope anchor wall art from the time I saw it so I thought now was the perfect time to enjoy it.  I paired it with this awesome lamp that I found that has a disco vibe to me.  Since it's round, it also reminds me of a porthole which is fun too.  Here's what it looks like together:

 

 

So, that's what I've been up to recently.  What kinds of things are you working on?  

Summer Stripes......

For some reason, stripes  remind me of summer. I've been sprucing up my outside and have been inspired by some of the fabulous outdoor furniture and weatherproof decorative objects out there.  I'll share some pictures of my outdoor space with you later but for now,  here are some summer inspired items that I've found.

Striped chairs from Terrain

This brown and white striped outdoor rug

Black and White Striped towel

Handmade pottery vases from etsy

Portofino Pavilion from Z Gallerie

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Khaki Striped 2 strap tote from Woolrich

Maybe you're looking at freshening up your space too?  Whatever your plans are this weekend, hope you have a wonderful one! 



Garden Update....

Happy Memorial Day !  Hope you are spending the day with family and friends.  I would like to recognize and thank all of the men and women who serve our nation and honor those who've lost their lives protecting our freedom.  Thank You for your service and dedication. 

This weekend was busy tying up loose ends and spending some time in the garden.  This summer we are growing corn, watermelon (that was an accident that came from compost), tomatoes, green, yellow and red peppers, jalapenos, lavender, cilantro, Genovase basil, purple basil, oregano, mint, rosemary, flat leaf parsley and  chile peppers.  Since we had a mild winter, the mint, parsley and oregano stayed good all year long but everything else is newly planted.  So far so good but we have a ways to go.  it's so nice to be able to grow the herbs that I use almost daily in cooking. The compost does it's job of providing good soil and the leaves from mowing make a great mulch.  We did have a little bit of powdery mold and I made a spray of baking soda, dish soap, patchouli oil and tea tree oil.  Not only does this smell good but these oils are anti-fungal in nature and should work.  I'll keep you posted.  Anyway, I snapped some pics of the garden while I was out there and here's where we're at:

and with all of that hard work comes lunch from the garden.......



Bon Appetite!

From the kitchen........

So, it's been forever since I've posted any recipes but I'll make up for it by posting this one.  This recipe is for a steak salad with a spicy cilantro lime vinaigrette and it's delicious. 

The weather here has been in the 90's so I've been in the mood for salads and have been making different ones this past week.  It's officially time to stop making the heavier dishes now that summer is just about here.  Here's what you'll need:

1lb. or so Flank Steak
Southwest Rub
Assorted greens for the salad. 
Fresh Guacamole
Tortilla Strips
1 Tomato chopped

For the dressing:
2 tbsp. fresh cilantro
1 Serrano or Jalapeno pepper, minced.
1 garlic clove minced
1 shallot minced (if you don't have a shallot, make it two cloves of garlic)
2 tbsp. fresh squeezed lime juice
1 tbsp. Chinese red pepper mix seasoning (orange bottle) or chili paste
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup salad oil
2 tbsp. rice wine vinegar


To make this salad, start out by getting the best flank steak you can find.  Then, make a paste with your favorite southwest rub (I use Penzey's) and olive oil.  Brush it on both sides and let it sit at room temp while you go light the grill.

While the grill is heating up, make your salad dressing.  Add the oil, vinegar and sugar first, then add all of the other ingredients and whisk until blended.  Set aside. 
Grill your flank steak according to your likeness and let rest for 10 min. or so.  Just a tip I use, I always take the food off the grill and immediately wrap it in foil and seal it.  I let it sit for about 5-10 minutes and then cut it. 

Meanwhile, place the greens on your plate.  Put a dollop ( literally just a dollop) of the fresh guacamole on one side of the greens and then place your steak on the bed of greens.  Sprinkle the tomatoes over the salad and guacamole, put a couple tortilla strips in the guacamole and then drizzle the dressing over the entire plate.  Grab your favorite beverage and enjoy!