Happy Fourth of July!

I hope everyone had a wonderful 4th.  And since I am sure some of you will still be celebrating this weekend, I am sharing my dishes from our pot-luck barbeque last night.
First up are these Pretzel Sparklers.

My tip: I used milk chocolate chips rather than shaving chocolate from a bar, it all melts down the same. These were so much fun and yummy too! They look especially great in my Patriotic Jar from The Round Top Collection.  A benefit of having a booth in a store is getting to keep some of the items for yourself!
The other item I made was the Bacon Tomato Pasta Salad.


Very refreshing for the warm evening!  I only made half of the recipe, by the way.  I served it in a simple Corningware dish nestled into a festive basket.  The added bonus of this is that you can put an ice pack below the dish and it's hidden by the basket.  Also, you can use the glass cover for the dish, if need be.  Super simple and easily changeable for the season.  I hope this inspires you to come up with a fun and festive way to serve your food!  I would love to hear some of your ideas! Pin It

Peaches!

I am so fortunate to live close to a pick-your-own farm, Jones Orchard in Millington, TN.  If you don't know where one is in your area, this is a great website to help you locate one close by.  www.pickyourown.org  Click on the "start here to find a farm near you" button on the top left.  Then click on your state.  Scroll all the way down and it lists all the farms for each county and their info.

Just walking in to the area with the peach trees was enough to make your mouth water.  Such a glorious aroma!  I filled up my basket (for a great price, I might add) and headed home to see what I could make.  The one request my boyfriend had was peach cobbler.  Since most recipes called for canned peaches, I decided to look in the classic Betty Crocker red and white cookbook.  And there was a recipe for cobbler using fresh fruit, which I included below.

You could really taste the just-picked freshness!  What a great activity to do with the kids...they can see food from farm to table.  Plus, you get to support your local farms and community.  I encourage you to take a break from hectic life and stop and smell the peaches...it's good for the soul and the tummy!

Fruit Cobbler
Peach Filling (see below)
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup suar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
3 tablespoons butter
1 beaten egg
3 tablespoons milk

Peach filling:
In a saucepan combine 1/3 to 2/3 cups sugar, 1 tablespoon cornstarch.  Add 1/4 cup water. Stir in 4 cups fresh unsweetened peach slices.  I skinned my peaches and chopped them up, rather than doing slices.  Next time, I think I would add a little extra peaches.  Cook and stir till thickened and bubbly.

Prepare filling.  Keep hot.  For topping, mix flour, sugar, baking powder, and cinnamon.  Cut in butter till mixture resembles coarse crumbs.  Combine egg and milk.  Add to flour mixture, stirring just to moisten.

Transfer filling to an 8x8 baking dish.  Drop topping into 6 mounds atop hot filling.  Bake in a 400 degree oven for 20 to 25 minutes or till toothpick inserted into topping comes out clean.  Serve warm.  I also doubled the recipe because I knew I would want more :) Pin It

Keep Your Existing Tub

Yep, I said keep it!  I know you wouldn't think a designer would say to keep anything existing about a dated bathroom.  But if your tub is neutral and in good shape, consider keeping it.  With a little freshening up, this could be a great way to stretch your budget.
Take a look at the first one...

 Very plain (and boring) cultured marble tub.  This is the first thing you see when walking into this bathroom.  And after...

I removed the side splashes and shelf behind the tub.  Then added mosaic tile to the surround and a granite shelf.  We updated the faucets and added a wood paneled tub apron.  A tip: These are actually operational cabinet fronts so you have access to the plumbing.  Now that's a tub worth being a focal point!
   
How about this one...

 Another boring tub, in this case acrylic.  And after...

Again, I removed the side splashes surrounding the tub and added tile with a mosaic insert.  This time I was able to use a tiled tub apron since we added an access panel to the plumbing in a closet located behind the tub spout.

Now on both of these projects, the customer originally thought they wanted a new tub because they were unattractive.  Both were pleasantly surprised with the outcome.  And I was able to use that money elsewhere.



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The Often Forgotten Shower Floor

A shower floor is often an overlooked area in bathroom design. This small area is an opportunity to use more expensive tile or have fun with color or texture. The three examples above come from the same house, although each one is unique to the individual bath. The first one is a hexagon shaped Travertine which lends a casual natural feel. The second shows smooth river rocks which evokes a spa feel as soon as you step in. The third example shows a small mosaic made of marble giving a feel of refined elegance. So on your next bathroom, don't forget the shower floor...and have fun with it! Pin It

What I've been doing

I am taking the liberty of cheating a bit with some links. I am attaching two blog links, that I have been featured in, showing what I have been up to.

Most recently, the Decorator's Showhouse...
http://shopbellavita.com/BlogRetrieve.aspx?BlogID=4604&PostID=139634

And, some work for a wedding photographer (who is amazing!!!)...
http://southerndesign.nathanraab.com/?p=108

I will try to be diligent in the upcoming month with posting some new fun stuff! Pin It

Laundry Room Trend

Yes, I said Laundry Room! More and more people are adding laundry rooms to the list of rooms that deserve an update. We do spend a lot of time in there after all...so it should be a space that is functional. I am featuring three laundry room renovations. All were done at the same time as their kitchen remodel.

The first one shows that you can take the cabinets out of the existing kitchen and re-purpose them for the laundry room. We picked the best cabinets, cleaned them up, and added new hardware. Now they look great and with little investment!

After Before

This low-budget option used thermofoil cabinets, thus allowing them to make the renovation changes they needed in this room.

After Before

The third example shows a laundry room that is very visible from the kitchen. In order to have continuity, we used cabinets that match the kitchen. They also made renovation changes that included removing an adjacent powder room.

After

Before

On your next kitchen renovation, consider the often over-looked laundry room as well.

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A Warm Inviting Space

BeforeAfter

I wanted to show a kitchen that I just completed and truly love! (Not to mention it was for, quite possibly, the nicest customers I have ever had!) One reason I wanted to feature this is because it is a wood kitchen...Cherry in fact. So many people think that they need white kitchens or it will look like a cave. This proves that is not the case. The key is to visually open up the kitchen and improve the lighting. This is something that I strive to do in every kitchen regardless of color. I think one of the reasons we see so many white kitchens these days in magazines is because they photograph better. But in person, the beauty of wood is breathtaking. I definately do many rich wood bathroom vanities, especially in master baths. But mostly the kitchens are white with maybe a wood island for warmth. While the white is classic and clean, I encourage you to think outside of the box and create a warm and inviting space!

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