Monthly Archives: April 2012

a wedding and orange toes

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Springtime in Dallas is absolutely beautiful…. it has to be, to gear everyone up for the absolutely miserable summer to follow.  Luckily, brides in Dallas are smart and schedule their weddings during this beautiful time of year.  We had the pleasure of going to our friends, Taylor and Amber’s, wedding this past Saturday and seeing them start their new life together.

As I was a guest, I also took a couple snap shots of the fun ideas and details of their wedding.  The venue was an old warehouse with exposed beams and brick in North Dallas and the details were not overlooked.

They had a gift table with an adorable bird cage for cards… yes, I know this picture is blurry! It was dark and I didn’t want to use my flash. (tear).

On the sweet’s table, they had these adorable napkins!  They also had chocolate-covered strawberries, which was a fun alternative to cake!

Mason jars with vintage family photos were part of the tables’ centerpieces.  They also had placed vintage paper that were made into flowers throughout the venue… which I loved and took one home as a keepsake. Don’t worry, I plan to tell Amber.

and at home…

There was an entire wall in the bar area covered with vases and one yellow daisy in each.  This photo doesn’t give this massive  wall justice!

We sent them away to Costa Rica with sparklers…

They gave each guest seasoned walnuts in cute silver boxes. They were set in this adorable vintage suitcase draped with vintage lace. Love!

After saying goodbye to the beautiful couple, Paul and I walked across the street to a rooftop bar, where we talked and danced the night away.

During all the weekend activities, I did manage to cross one item off my 33 before I’m 33 list. I went to a local Palm Beach Tan, because they were having a 2 for 1 special on Mystic Tan; I figured it was now or never! Now, I’m not saying I’m an expert (look streaky feet.. okay my whole body!), but here are a couple of things I’ve learned from the experience.

  1. Exfoliate before you go; that way, the spray tan will be applied to fresh skin, giving you a more even tone, lasting longer.
  2. Listen to the mystic tan lady! I was supposed to rotate 4 different times, and I didn’t! Ha. I ended up getting a double coat on one side. Lesson learned.
  3. Work hard to wipe off your hands with paper towels and baby wipes, then wash them with soap and water before you leave, especially your palms!
  4. Make sure you give yourself time. You aren’t supposed to shower for a least 4 hours after the mystic tan, so if you’re planning on doing it for an event, plan accordingly.
  5. Mystic tan or bust… honestly, if you worked with me for a day, you would understand. And no, tanning beds ARE NOT better for you than regular sun.  Wear sunscreen and reapply often.  Make sure the sunscreen is UVA and UVB protective, and SPF 40 or higher is the best. All work the same, but some feel better than others. Here’s my favorite, Elta MD.

I hope everyone had as great of weekend as we did! 

oldie but a goodie

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One of the reasons we fell in love with our 1964 home was that it still possessed many of the original details. I love all the built-ins, knobs and pulls, and the light fixtures in two of our bathrooms.  The only ones we plan or have replaced thus far are the ones the previous owners replaced themselves…. Probably in the 80’s. I’m trying to keep a lot of the original fixtures, but updating them to our style.

Painting the ceiling in our master bathroom brought to my attention the need for some major love to the original light fixture in the space. I took down the white bowl fixture and assessed it’s wear. It needed some cleaning.

I cleaned the glass bowl and went to Lowe’s with the fixture in hand to look at spray paint.  Holy cow, I haven’t been in the spray paint section for years! It definitely had babies, lots of paint can babies. It was practically the whole row, filled with endless paint colors and textures!  I was thinking of a brushed flat black when I went in, but came out with a mix of black and grayish hammered goodness from Rust-Oleum “trusted quality from 1921”.
I took the whole fixture off the ceiling. Make sure to kill the power (safety first), then used steel wool to take off any loose paint, rust, and mildew from the surface. This also helps rough up the fixture for the paint to stick.
Looks better already! I used painters tape to tape off anything I didn’t want to be spray painted such as the wires and opening to the lightbulb. Now spray away! Outside. On paper. Let set for 90 minutes. Obviously, use your own can’s directions for recommended drying time.
Remount fixture in the bathroom! Look at her shine! Giving new life to an old piece makes me so happy! They don’t make ’em like they used to, so might as well try to save ’em!
I have plans to try this idea (a different color) on the door knobs and pulls in our dry bar! We’ll see?!?

almond biscotti

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I made these biscottis as a party favor for our Italian-themed wine club night.  I was a little nervous to make biscottis (again, it looks fancy), but with a little research, it didn’t seem that challenging.

I used the recipe taken from Smitten Kitchen.

Recipe

3 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/3 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups sugar
10 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter, melted
3 large eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon orange liqueur
1 tablespoon orange zest
1 cup whole almonds, toasted, coarsely chopped or sliced almonds

1 large egg white

First, position rack in the center of oven and preheat to 350°F.

Start by sifting flour, baking powder, and salt into medium bowl.

Mix sugar, melted butter, 3 eggs, vanilla extract, orange liqueur, and zest in large bowl.
Add flour mixture to egg mixture and stir with wooden spoon until well blended.
Mix in almonds. I used Honey Toasted Glazed Almonds from Central Market which I chopped in my Cuisinart mini food processor; this machine has been such a versatile tool in my kitchen.
Divide dough in half. Using floured hands, shape each dough half into 13 1/2-inch-long, 2 1/2-inch-wide logs on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
Whisk egg white in a small bowl until foamy; brush over top and sides of each dough log.
Bake logs until golden brown (logs will spread), about 30 minutes. Cool logs completely on sheet on rack, about 25 minutes. Maintain oven temperature.
Transfer logs to work surface; discard parchment paper. Using serrated knife, cut logs on diagonal into 1/2-inch-wide slices.
Arrange slices, cut side down, on same baking sheet.
Bake 12 minutes. Turn biscotti over; bake until just beginning to color, about 8 minutes. Transfer to rack and cool. Yum!!
This recipe said you can bake them up to one week ahead of time and they have kept even longer. Store in airtight container at room temperature.  This recipe yields about 40 biscottis!

Considering these were a party favor for our wine night, I bought clear bags and more twine to put them in, Italian colored twine, of course. I added a note to each; “enjoy these homemade biscottis with coffee or wine” and attached them to the bag.

I added the twine and note to each bag of four biscottis to present to our guests.

Yum, right?!  These were surprisingly easy and so yummy.  They have a little hint of orange with the almond, which was also a surprising mix of goodness.  I have ideas of making them again and adding a chocolate drizzle to them!  Either way, they were delicious!

evoo

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Last night, we served thirteen people an Italian-inspired menu for a fabulous wine club pairing. We started with extra virgin olive oil, baguettes, cheese and prosciutto. Paul made his seasoned spaghetti, which we served with an Italian salad and garlic bread. For dessert, we enjoyed tiramisu and cannoli…. and lots of bottles of wine.

The one downfall of the fabulous evening was that I didn’t take pictures. I recharged my battery and everything!! Ah. But once guests started to arrive, bread had to be cut, and all the prep work had to be finished in our little galley kitchen… so the camera unfortunately didn’t move from it’s lone place on the counter.

I did, however, take pictures of the party gifts we gave. Little bottles of extra virgin olive oil…

I started by heading over to Hobby Lobby and picking up fun bottles.  At first, I was going to pick different types, but I fell in love with these little gems.
Simply add your favorite extra virgin oil olive.
I then purchased colored twine and alphabet buttons.
I placed a button, which corresponded to each person’s or couple’s last name and added about four loops of string around the rim of the jar.
Repeat this technique for how many ever you are making.
These were a hit… not only for picture taking, but for the party.  Everyone really liked them.  I’m sure they will be used for more of a display piece, but there is some great evoo in each of them, too!
If you wanted to add more to this gift, you could send guests away with a baguette and seasoning! The possibilities are endless.
Posted in DIY

labor & delivery

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(picture courtesy of Addison & her mother)

Have you ever heard new moms talk about their delivery process? Well, I have. I recently had three very close friends have babies. Two of these being their first and the other her third. They all tell this remarkably calm story about their child’s birth. The spouse did this, and I was feeling that, so we decided to go to the hospital. Admitted. The nurse said I was dilated, epidurals, etc. All three added in one minor anecdote, “not going to lie, it was a little painful.” One friend even claimed to her husband that she was done having babies when that pain hit, but then they all magically go on to the details of their first meeting; Addison, Miles, or Lucas. Now, I always thought this was my mom’s extremely positive spin on life, when she talked about my delivery story, which she would recite to me every August 7 @ 3:19 pm. But there must be baby-steia or baby-abnesia that helps you get thru the pain.  I’m convinced.

This womanly characteristic is probably the reason I wanted to paint the master bathroom with stripes. I have no recollection of the pain and misery and anger those strips in the 1/2 bath caused me; no, all I have left is the internal bliss of those stripes every time I walk past. Sometimes, I walk down that hall just to get a view of those stripes and smile at them.

Motherhood is amazing. Ha.

Here is a picture of the master bath:

Before (before we moved in)

Benjamin Moore boothbay gray HC-165
The tutorial is the same as the 1/2 bath post, the only difference being, I decided to do three colored stripes instead of two. The colors were Benjamin Moore Early Morning Mist 1528 (medium color) and Benjamin Moore Swiss Coffee OC-45 (lightest color) & Benjamin Moore Stone Harbor 2011-50 (darkest color).
This bathroom was definitely the second child, the wild child. Like any typical second child, it was ready to test my limits, and when I took off the tape this is what I discovered… Why did I decide to do this?! Ahhh.

I waited until the next day and touched up all the lines with a small brush and a surgical steady hand.  Luckily I had both.

This is probably why the average American household has only two children. I think I’m done myself… at least with painting stripes.

 Oh, and all three ladies would have another in a heartbeat.

lemon poppyseed scones

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Since buying my French press, I haven’t thought much about eating breakfast. I would whip together whatever would satisfy my empty stomach in the morning but mainly enjoy my coffee. It’s like having to eat the happy meal before getting the toy. I just wanted the toy, or my coffee!!

This was until our brother-in-law come to visit. He loves sweets, and we didn’t have enough in our house to facilitate his weekend visit.  He came home from the grocery store with lemon poppyseed sconces, cookies and cinnamon rolls, classic Scott!! Unfortunately, it was in the afternoon when he came home with the scones, and I didn’t want to make a scene by getting out my French press right then and there.

Scones! Why didn’t I think of that!?!

The next day, I was like a kid on Christmas morning so excited to get my kettle going and warm up those scones. Turns out, they were delicious and my brother-in-law took back a couple containers to Missouri.

Now, my new mission was to try to make my own! And that I did! I recommend a pastry cutter for this recipe; I didn’t have one and used a fork and my fingers, which worked fine but is a little more labor intensive.

Oh, and do not overwork the dough! This was emphasized in the recipe I used from Southern Living. You want that crumbly goodness only scones possess, so minimize mixing and handling the ingredients.

Recipe

Scones

  •  2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
  • 3 tablespoons poppyseeds
  • 2 large lemons, zested
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 tablespoon salt
  • 1 stick cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream
  • 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

Glaze

  • 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
  • 1/2 cup confectioners sugar
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. In a large bowl, combine flour, granulated sugar, poppyseeds, lemon zest, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix. Then add in cubed butter.
Using a pastry cutter (I used a fork and my fingers), cut in butter until mixture resembles a very coarse meal. Pour in heavy cream, then add 1/4 cup lemon juice, stirring just until dough forms.
Using your hands, gather dough together and gently press into a ball. Transfer dough to a parchment-lined baking sheet and shape into an 8-inch disk.  Yes, I measured it. I think it’s funny it’s a tape measure too.
Next, cut into 8 wedges.  That’s how they get the triangles! Separate so scones are about 1 inch apart.  I would cut them into 16 next time.  I like my scones a little smaller but really, it helps me justify eating more than one. Ha.
Bake until scones are golden and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 12 – 14 minutes.  Transfer scones to a wire rack and let cool for about 20 minutes.  These guys were monster size scones.
Meanwhile, in a small bowl, mix 1/2 cup confectioners sugar with 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice and stir until smooth.

Using a spoon, drizzle glaze over cooled scones. They look so pretty!
Get your French press brewing and enjoy!  It’s the perfect marriage!
I said earlier the grocery store version was delicious, well these blow-them-out-of-the-water!! They are amazing… and the size that I was claiming were gi-normous… the hubs had two. Ha!

Etsy

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Today, one of my patients and I were discussing procrastination tools such as Pinterest and Facebook. We usually ask questions to our patients, distracting their attention on what we are doing.  Even though we know the difference between Facebook and Pinterest, we ask. We ask hoping the patient doesn’t know that we actually took a biopsy or excised a mole… it works most of the time, to the delight of both the patient and the provider. Except when your provider (me) gets REAL excited about the subject and talks for them. This was me today. Considering I had to stop talking about MY love for Pinterest and Etsy with them, I figured I would share the site with you.

Etsy is a fun site where real people (like you and me) share and sell their goods! At decent prices, too! Here are just a few things I’ve gotten for the house and myself on Etsy!

Custom Sewn Window Seat Cushion with Cording – I chose the coffee bean bags as my seat “fabric”.

Elephant Bums and Babies Original Drawing

Budweiser Raised Dog Feeder Pet Bowl Holder

The Chunky Cowl Scarf Shawl Hood

Wall Hooks

And here are some things I’ve been loving on the site… click on the photo and it will bring you to Etsy. 

Archive Bag in Chestnut Brown

Birds of a Feather 5×7 Photography

Expresso Bar

Bird Plates

Happy status updating, pinning, and shopping!

well, hello.

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We recently added a couple new elements to our entryway.  We longed for an inviting space for guests to put their shoes and coats, but considering we had more of a hallway than an entry nook, we had to improvise.

I’ve been drooling over this Pottery Barn piece for months and have seen many variations other bloggers have come up with to make it their own. I had it on my brain that I would do the same. Maybe commission something similar? Or make it myself? Because I could never stomach the high sticker price of the real thing. Don’t get me wrong, there are items I want for my house that I would totally save my money for, but a bench and hook set wasn’t one of them. I think it totaled around $920.00 with shipping! Ekk.

One night recently, I was browsing Craigslist at items we still need, a dining table, etc.  As luck would have it, there was the exact entryway hook and bench I’ve been drooling over on Craigslist, though I wasn’t sure about the mahogany stain (I wanted black) and the red cushion (would have to be replaced). But I was all about it!  I offered him a couple hundred less then he was asking, and he was firm on his price. I said okay but if he changes his mind, he can contact me and could pick it up that weekend. I thought I had lost this little gem but he contacted me a week later seeing if I was still interested and accepted my original offer!

It came with 6 seagrass baskets and a red cushion, which now resides in Boston’s crate.  It’s the Samantha Collection from Pottery Barn, and I got the whole thing for less than half the original. An interior designer used it for about 8 months and put it on Craigslist! Score of the year? I think so!

I dressed it up with some found items around the house. I think this will be a fun place to rearrange throughout the year! I now store our dog toys in the middle bench, hats and mittens in another, and spare keys in the wooden bowl. I’m sure we’ll find ways to use all the baskets. Now, I just need a great runner (rug) and a new front door (fun paint color?) and this space will be complete. Here’s some progress pictures of our entryway!

Before

After

Before

After

I’m trying to make our entryway as inviting as possible, in hopes to see many great people (and animals) walk through that door.

becoming a minimalist

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This past weekend was one of those great weekends with a minimal MUST-DO list and ample time to just enjoy the weather and a good book. I’ve been reading The Happiness Project, which has motivated my desire to de-clutter. De-clutter my closets, rooms and thoughts. Friday, I finished up painting the fireplace (blog post in 3 weeks! I have to wait for the paint to dry!), then I spent the rest of the afternoon reading about de-cluttering and the satisfaction it can bring. I was motivated and wanted that high!

Since getting the carpets cleaned a few weeks ago, we had two areas in our home with some major clutter. A blanket laid out in our living room filled with junk; seriously, a blanket with all the random things on the floor from the guest room.  This blanket was also hindering us from moving forward with any decorative plans but mostly was a huge eye-sore and gave me anxiety every time I walked through the front door.

See. Scary!

The other major clutter zone was the 4th bedroom/office/catch-all. We’ll do that next.

We decided to take on the living room! We went through the boxes and bins that have made at least two moves with us. We placed the items into three piles; keep, throw, or garage sale.  To my surprise Paul was really on board, and the two of us hammered through all the bins. We finished the project with one bin of “keep” and items that we had spaces already dedicated for!

Wow, it feels so wonderful to have that space clean! Now, we can save up for our furniture selections for this space. Watch out 4th bedroom! You’re next.

P.S. No, the dog crates will not be part of the living room decor.